Governing Bodies
WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS IN AFRICA COULD PLUNGE INTO CRISIS
Nigeria’s match day 2 World Cup qualifying match away with Central African Republic is one of the scores of matches that are in threat following ban on various stadiums across the continent.
According to information obtained from SuperSport, Africa’s World Cup qualifiers have been thrown into crisis after a ban on numerous stadiums across the continent left many countries facing the prospect of hosting matches next month outside their borders.
The Confederation of African Football, in a circular to member associations this week issued a list of approved stadiums for the first two rounds of group matches in June.
The list leaves a quarter of the 40 teams competing for places in Qatar 2022 without a venue to play their home qualifiers.
Those affected include Senegal, who competed at the last World Cup in Russia in 2018, and Mali, who were among the top seeded teams for the preliminaries.
Burkina Faso, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Sierra Leone the Central African Republic and Liberia have all not had their home stadiums approved as CAF cracks down on poor infrastructure around the continent. The last two are in the same Group C with Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
They now face a tight deadline to upgrade venues before the first set of matches begin on 5 June or they will have to host them elsewhere.
Sierra Leone were to play their last home game with Benin Republic in Conakry, Guinea as the stadium in Freetown was not approved.
Senegal open their Group H campaign at home to Togo in the first week of June, but their iconic Leopold Senghor Stadium is closed for renovations and alternate venues used for recent internationals have been declared unfit by CAF.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and Uganda have had their main stadiums rejected but will still be able to play at home at smaller, alternate venues.
The group phase of Africa’s World Cup preliminaries has the 40 countries divided into 10 groups of four. They will play six matches each through until October.
In March, a similar ban on several stadia across the continent for the last round of Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers was lifted at the last minute. CAF gave no explanation for the change of heart.
FIFA has sanctioned two lower division clubs in Kenya and Vietnam for match manipulation, relegating them to the third tier, world soccer’s governing body said on Friday.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee found Kenyan side Muhoroni Youth guilty of “activities related to the manipulation of football matches and competitions”, expelling the club from the second-tier National Super League.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has further ordered the relegation of the Muhoroni Youth senior team to the Football Kenya Federation Division One League (third tier) ahead of next season,” FIFA said.
Vietnamese club Phu Tho was also found guilty of match manipulation. The club’s senior team was expelled from the Vietnamese Football League Second Division and relegated to the third division.
FIFA said the clubs had been notified and can appeal the decision.
-Reuters
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The president of the Confédération of African Football, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, has announced five new CAF Vice Presidents. They are:
- CAF First Vice President: Mr Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco)
- CAF Second Vice President: Mr Kurt Okraku (Ghana)
- CAF Third Vice President: Mr Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
- CAF Fourth Vice President: Ms Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- CAF Fifth Vice President: Mr Feizal Sidat (Mozambique)
In addition, the CAF President has co-opted Yacine Idriss Diallo, President of Fédération Ivoirienne de football, into the CAF Executive Committee.
The CAF Executive Committee also approved the names to fill vacant positions on several CAF Committees.
Organising Committee for the African Nations Championship (CHAN)
- President: Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
CAF Technical and Development Committee
- President: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- Vice President: Malouche Belhassen (Tunisia)
CAF Medical Committee:
- President: Dr. Mohammed Bouya (Mauritania)
- Vice President: Dr. Thulani Ngwenya (South Africa)
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Governing Bodies
Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council
Laurels on the courts and now glory in the boardroom sums up the mark that badminton is making in Nigeria.
The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has been elected as a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The election took place during the BWF Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Xiamen, China.
Orbih emerged victorious over top contenders from other African countries.
He will join Cameroon’s Odette Assembe Engoulou on the council, while Chipo Zumburani (Zimbabwe) and Hadia ElSaid (Egypt) missed out.
An elated Orbih expressed his gratitude to fellow badminton presidents across the globe for their trust and support.
He said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by my peers across the badminton world.
“I look forward to quality representation, driving development initiatives, and strengthening badminton’s global reach over the next four years.”
Orbih also acknowledged the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the National Sports Commission (NSC), which he said played a significant role in his successful bid.
“The Chairman and the Director General of the NSC monitored the entire process. I’m grateful for their involvement and confident Nigeria will benefit from this,” he stated.
He further appreciated the BFN board members and the Nigerian badminton community for their prayers and continued belief in his leadership.
“From the day I declared my intentions, the board members of BFN have been supportive, and I promise not to disappoint them,” Orbih concluded.
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