Governing Bodies
World Cup draw seeding skewed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Next week’s World Cup draw will have some of its seedings skewed because of Russia’s war with Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic.
FIFA outlined the procedure on Tuesday for the draw in Qatar on April 1. Only 29 of the 32 teams in the draw will be known by then because of the war and global health crisis. The three remaining places will be decided in June.
At the draw, the 29 qualified teams will be put into four pots according to their FIFA ranking.
Hosts Qatar are in Pot 1 along with defending champions France, Belgium, Brazil, Argentina and England. Germany, the 2014 World Cup champions, have been ranked outside the top 10 for more than three years and will be in Pot 2.
FIFA resolved the uncertainty around how to seed the three undecided entries by creating placeholder spots in Pot 4. The teams affected could land in a tougher World Cup group than their ranking merits simply because they could not complete their games as originally scheduled.
Some of the teams that could be affected include Ukraine, Wales and Colombia. Each of the three, if they were to qualify, would likely have been in Pot 3.
Only 15 teams have so far qualified for the World Cup ahead of more qualifying games in the next week.
Ukraine were scheduled to play at Scotland on Thursday with the winner advancing to play either Wales or Austria on March 29. Ukraine asked for a postponement because it was not possible for home-based players to train and travel during the Russian invasion.
The pandemic forced the intercontinental playoff round to be delayed. It is now scheduled to be played in Qatar on June 13-14. An Asian team will play a South American team, and the Oceania representative will play a team from the North American region.
The World Cup is scheduled to be played from Nov. 21-Dec. 18 in eight stadiums around the Qatari capital of Doha.
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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