Governing Bodies
Former CAF Ag. President Constant Omari gets one-year ban
DR Congo’s former interim Confederation of African Football (Caf) president Constant Omari has been suspended from football for one-year by Fifa for breaking its ethics code.
According to BBC, the former Fifa Council member was adjudged to have received benefits from Lagardere during negotiations between the French media company and Caf – which resulted in “significant financial damage” to the latter.
Caf’s one-time vice-president is said to have received just over 66,000 Euros (US$80,000), which football’s world governing body has instructed he pay as a fine as part of his sanction.
Omari, who recently left his role as DR Congo’s football federation president after a 16-year reign, entered into a plea bargain arrangement with Fifa.
“A formal investigation against Mr Omari was opened on 7 January 2021,” said Fifa in a statement.
“[It] concerned certain benefits accepted and received from Lagardere Sports (for a total amount of EUR 66,444), in relation to the negotiations that he conducted for an agreement between Caf and Lagardere Sports in connection with the commercialisation of certain TV rights licenced to the LC2 company and to the collection of the latter’s outstanding debt.
“The negotiations, which were led by Mr Omari on behalf of Caf, resulted in contractual provisions that were particularly detrimental to Caf, causing significant financial damage to the confederation.”
“In this respect, the receipt of benefits created a conflict of interests that detracted from Mr Omari’s ability to perform his duties to Caf with integrity and in an independent and purposeful manner.”
Costly amendment
In early 2019, Omari oversaw an amendment to the billion-dollar deal that Caf had made with Lagardere Sports in 2015.
Under this amendment, Caf agreed to pay Lagardere $6.7m for around $20m of debt, related to outstanding TV rights payments, owed by Beninois sports agency LC2 GROUP to the French company.
In January, Omari was barred from running for re-election to the Fifa Council, on which he had sat since 2015, after he failed an integrity check owing to Fifa’s ongoing investigation into the Lagardere amendment.
This decision was confirmed in March when sport’s highest legal body, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, rejected his appeal against his exclusion.
Omari was stand-in Caf president at the time, after former president Ahmad of Madagascar had been banned himself by Fifa for violating the ethics code.
Ahmad – who is serving a two-year ban after appealing his original sentence – was also being investigated over his role in the Lagardere affair.
“The decision communicated today refers to Mr Omari,” a Fifa spokesperson told BBC Sport Africa.
“Please note that as a general policy, the Ethics Committee does not comment on potential ongoing proceedings nor on whether or not investigations are underway into alleged cases.
“As usual, any information the Ethics Committee may like to share will be communicated accordingly upon their indications.”
The Congolese declined to speak the BBC, which has also sought comment from Lagardere Sports, which rebranded itself as Sportfive last year.
Omari’s ban formally started on 18 June.
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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A former member of the FIFA Council, Mamoutou Toure, has been released from jail in Mali after almost two years in detention for alleged corruption, Malian media reports said on Wednesday.
Toure, president of the Malian Football Federation since 2019, was released after 622 days in prison on Tuesday.
He served on the FIFA Council, world football’s all-powerful decision-making body, for four years until last month when he lost his seat after failing to contest new elections.
The 67-year-old was arrested in August 2023 on allegations of embezzling $28 million of public funds but was granted a provisional release order by the Malian courts, reports said.
He was accused of misconduct during his time as the National Assembly’s financial and administrative director from 2013-2019.
Toure denied all charges and, during his time in jail, was last August re-elected as Malian Football Federation president for a second consecutive term, with his supporters claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy fuelled by detractors.
While in jail, he received a letter of support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, as of last month, Toure is no longer a member of the FIFA Council or the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee.
-Reuters
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