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Tag: Fifa

  • What Ex-FIFA president, Blatter told me about Nigerian coaches – Maigari

    What Ex-FIFA president, Blatter told me about Nigerian coaches – Maigari

    Former President of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, has revealed what a former FIFA President, Sepp Blatter once told him about Nigerian coaches.

    Austine Eguavoen led the Super Eagles to the Round of 16 at the ongoing 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

    The Super Eagles lost to Tunisia.

    The Eagles were initially tipped to win and Maigari believed that the squad played attractive football at the tournament.

    “…They showed great form and character right for. the group games,” he told Complete Sports.

    “This goes to confirm my stand on Nigerian coaches. You remember when former FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, wrote to commend me for having the trust and faith in one of our own, (late) Stephen Keshi, to appoint him as Super Eagles coach.

    “Blatter did that twice. The second time was after our Nations Cup win in 2013 in South Africa. So, I believe Eguavoen did well. The solution to our football problems lies in our own hands.

    “Like Blatter said in his (second) commendation letter to me, it is only indigenous coaches that know their players’ character, mentality, the culture of the people and attitude.

    “They work with commitment, determination because they know that they don’t have any other country than theirs.”

    Up next for the Super Eagles is their World Cup qualifying playoff against Ghana in March.

  • Court lifts FIFA’s suspension as Gueye returns to AFCON

    Court lifts FIFA’s suspension as Gueye returns to AFCON

    The Court of Arbitration for Sport, also known as CAS, has decided to suspend the decision of FIFA concerning Pape Gueye.

    The OM midfielder was subject to investigation after agreeing personal terms with Watford over a move, before pulling the plug on the deal and eventually joining Marseille in the summer of 2020.

    The world football governing body, FIFA, decided to ban the player whilst they investigated the strange scenario regarding his transfer. This meant that he would be ineligible for the current Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

    Since then, CAS have got involved and overruled the decision, meaning that Gueye is now eligible to compete for Senegal at AFCON.

  • Robert Lewandowski wins FIFA best men’s footballer award

    Robert Lewandowski wins FIFA best men’s footballer award

    Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski was named the best men’s player in 2021 at a FIFA awards ceremony on Monday.

    The forward beat Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah to secure the award for the second consecutive year.

    The Pole broke Gerd Muller’s long-standing single-season Bundesliga record with an unprecedented haul of 41 goals.

    In all competitions, he scored 48 goals in 40 games for Bayern Munich in the 2020/2021 season.

    “Thank you very much, it is a great honour,” Lewandowski said as he received the trophy from Bayern Munich chief Oliver Kahn, coach Julian Nagelsmann and board member for sport, Hasan Salihamidzic.

    “Everything that happened last year, the Bundesliga record —- I would never have dared to dream about that.”

    At the ceremony, Thomas Tuchel was honoured as best coach after his UEFA Champions League triumph with Chelsea.

    “It was a pretty normal day so far at the training centre, I’ve just come from training because we have a game (on Tuesday), but now you opened the envelope and said my name, it’s pretty surreal,” the German coach said.

    “I’m overwhelmed, I feel a bit uncomfortable actually. I enjoy the journey and I enjoy the club, it’s a good fit.”

    On the women’s side, Alexia Putellas of FC Barcelona Women took the award for best player and Chelsea Ladies’ Emma Hayes for best coach.

    Putellas captained the Barcelona to the treble, with the Catalan side winning the Women’s UEFA Champions League, Spanish league and Copa de la Reina last term.

    Édouard Mendy and Christiane Endler were named best men’s and women’s goalkeeper respectively.

    The Denmark national team, medics and coaching staff received the Fairplay Award for their heroic response after Christian Eriksen collapsed during Denmark’s match against Finland at the Euro 2020.

    Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ceremony was held partially online, with only a few guests and FIFA officials, including President Gianni Infantino, at the event in Zurich.

    All nominated players and coaches participated via video link.

  • FIFA suspend Senegal’s Pape Gueye, out of AFCON 2021

    FIFA suspend Senegal’s Pape Gueye, out of AFCON 2021

    FIFA have reportedly suspended Marseille midfielder Pape Gueye as part of their investigation into his move to the Ligue 1 club from Watford in 2020.

    The suspension means that Gueye, who is currently at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, cannot take part in any competition until further notice.

    The 22-year-old came off the bench for Senegal’s 1-0 win over Zimbabwe on Monday but was not in the squad for their 0-0 draw against Guinea on Friday.

    ‘There were problems between Watford and Marseille on a transfer [and] FIFA has suspended him,’ Senegal manager Aliou Cisse said.

    Gueye joined the Hornets in the summer of 2020 on a free transfer from the French side Le Havre, but was sold to Marseille just 17 hours later.

    Despite his incredibly short stint as Watford player, the Premier League club were able to claim compensation as the Senegal international had signed a pre-contract with them in January 2020.

    Gueye reportedly signed a £45,000-a-week deal with Watford in the summer of the same year and was registered as a player on 1 July 2020. However, according to the Mirror, the player subsequently claimed he had been badly advised.

    Less than a day after he was officially presented as a Watford player, Gueye revealed he had agreed to join Marseille.

    ‘Very happy and proud to announce my signature at L’Olympic de Marseille for the next four years,’ he wrote on Instagram as caption for a picture of him wearing the Ligue 1 giants’ training top.

  • Why biennial World Cup is not good for football – Former FIFA President

    Why biennial World Cup is not good for football – Former FIFA President

    Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has delivered “a clear ‘No’ ” to the governing body’s plans for biennial World Cup competitions.

    The 85-year-old, who held the top position at FIFA between 1998 and 2015 before being brought down in a corruption scandal, has come out against the idea.

    It forms part of a wider package of proposed reforms to the international match calendar post-2024.

    Blatter wrote on Twitter: “Concerning the biennial World Cup: We must not forget that the basis of our game are the clubs and their impact to society. ….And if only the national teams play the clubs lose their right to exist. Therefore, a clear ‘NO’ to the two-year-rhythm of the World Cup.”

    Blatter’s opposition to FIFA’s plans is perhaps no great surprise given that last March, FIFA’s ethics committee imposed a new six-year, four-month ban on him.

    This was after it found he was part of a “vicious circle” of officials who sought to award themselves over 50 million pounds (68 million dollars) in undeclared payments.

    That suspension began in October last year, when a previous six-year sanction relating to a payment he made in 2011 to former UEFA president Michel Platini expired.

    The pair were charged with fraud by Swiss federal prosecutors in relation to that payment in November last year, with the case due to be heard in the federal criminal court this year.

    In December 2020, FIFA issued a separate criminal mismanagement complaint to Zurich prosecutors against Blatter and others in relation to the construction and ongoing costs of the FIFA Museum in the city.

    FIFA is continuing to consult with national associations, confederations, players, fans and coaches over its plans to reshape national team football.

    UEFA, the European Club Association and European Leagues have all criticised the proposals and what they see as a lack of appropriate consultation.

    Current FIFA president Gianni Infantino called on the game’s elite clubs and countries to show “solidarity” with the wider sport in a new year’s message published last week.

    He and FIFA’s chief of global football development, Arsene Wenger, believe the proposals would provide more meaningful competition for all member-countries and more opportunities to qualify for tournaments.

    Delegates attending the virtual global summit called by FIFA last month were also told that an additional World Cup in each four-year cycle would increase revenues by 4.4 billion US dollars.

  • Premier League has option of rescheduling COVID-19 hit matches – FIFA

    Premier League has option of rescheduling COVID-19 hit matches – FIFA

    The Premier League in England has the option of rescheduling matches postponed due to COVID-19 during the international break at the end of the month, world governing body FIFA says.

    Eighteen top-flight games have been called off for COVID-related reasons since last month amid a significant rise in cases, with only three given new dates so far.

    The international window which runs from Jan. 24 to Feb. 2 will not involve European countries.

    It has been viewed by the league at the start of the season as an opportunity for any player not called up for international duty elsewhere to take a break.

    However, that 10-day period could now be valuable to catch up.

    FIFA would not stand in the Premier League’s way if it chose to stage matches then, provided clubs released non-European players when requested to.

    A FIFA spokesperson said: “In accordance with article 1, paragraph 2 of Annexe 1 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players, the release of players is mandatory for all international windows listed in the international match calendar.

    “Therefore, should clubs and leagues decide to play on those dates they would not be able to feature any player who has been called up/is on international duty.”

    Playing top-flight matches during the window could create issues around integrity, with some clubs more affected by call-ups outside Europe than others.

    Many clubs have already been weakened after releasing players for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which starts on Sunday and runs until Feb. 6.

    The Premier League has not commented on how it intends to reschedule further matches beyond three which were allotted new dates last week.

    These are: Southampton versus Brentford, West Ham versus Norwich and Everton versus Leicester City.

    Ninety-one per cent of Premier League matches this season have been played as scheduled.

    From Thursday, the league is dropping twice-weekly PCR testing on all players and staff.

    Clubs will continue to conduct daily lateral flow tests (LFTs) on training days but PCR tests will only be taken to confirm a positive lateral flow result.

  • English football star gets FIFA approval to play for Nigeria

    English football star gets FIFA approval to play for Nigeria

    The Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) has granted approval for former England youth international, Ashleigh Plumptre to play for Nigeria.

    Plumper, 23, who plays for Women’s Super League side Leicester City, is eligible to represent the African champions because of her father’s Nigerian heritage.

    After joining training camps in Austria and Abuja, she has now been cleared by FIFA and is eligible for Nigeria’s 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations play-off against Ivory Coast in February.

    “We are happy to receive Ashleigh’s official clearance from FIFA.

    “It was only possible because of her commitment and dedication. She made the federation’s work a lot easier by providing all the requirements in quick time.

    “Ashleigh personally approached the English FA directly to get the required international clearance from that end.

    “Her professionalism and unflinching desire to play for Nigeria is honestly heart-warming. That big move on her part obviously helped a lot and prevented the long wait for the FA’s response,” NFF director of communications Ademola Olajire told BBC Sport Africa.

    Plumptre, who has a British mother, had been capped 30 times by England at youth level but qualified for Nigeria through the grandparent rule.

    The centre-back needed to prove her eligibility and dedicated three months to acquiring all the required documents – a Nigerian passport and her grandfather’s documents and then officially requesting clearance from the four home nations (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) as well from Nigerian internal affairs.

    “She got all the documents in a few months without being forced or persuaded.

    “We’ve been through this Fifa process with other players in the past and others needed to be reminded. Ashleigh made personal sacrifices to ensure a smooth clearance,” Olajire added.

    Plumptre joins a growing list of foreign-born players like Michelle Alozie, Patricia George and Nicole and Toni Payne, who all opted to represent the nine-time African champions.

    She has played 25 games this season for Leicester women’s side which she first joined as an eight-year-old.

    She previously played in the English top flight with Notts County in 2014 before moving to the United States.

    Stints with US college side USC Trojans and LA Galaxy followed, before she returned from studying in January 2020 to play a key role in a memorable season for Leicester.

    After she helped the Foxes to the FA Women’s Championship title in 2020-21, Plumptre was voted player of the season and rewarded with a new two-year deal.

  • Teams that have qualified for 2022 World Cup in Qatar

    Teams that have qualified for 2022 World Cup in Qatar

    The World Cup heads to Qatar in 2022 with 32 teams set to battle it out for glory in the Middle East.

    Just over a year away now, nine countries have so far booked their place in the next year’s finals.

    Qatar, the host nation, has an automatic place in the tournament.

    Germany, Denmark, Brazil, France and Belgium have already booked their tickets to the first-ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East.

    Germany qualified on October 11, Denmark on October 12, Brazil on November 11, France and Belgium on November 13.

    Croatia, Serbia and Spain became the latest countries to book their place in the tournament on Sunday after beating Russia, Portugal and Sweden, respectively.

    Croatia defeated Russia 1-0, Serbia beat Portugal 2-1, while Spain won 1-0 against Sweden.

    The FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifiers began in June 2019 and are expected to finish in June 2022.

  • BREAKING: Ballon d’Or 2021 list of nominees released [FULL LIST ATTACHED]

    BREAKING: Ballon d’Or 2021 list of nominees released [FULL LIST ATTACHED]

    The full list of nominees for the 2021 Ballon d’Or, an annual football award presented by French news magazine, France Football, has been released with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Harry Kane named.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Ballon d’Or is one of the oldest, and generally regarded as the most prestigious individual award for football players across the globe.

    It has been awarded since 1956, but between 2010 and 2015, an agreement was made with the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA), and the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (founded in 1991) and known as the FIFA Ballon d’Or.

    However, the partnership ended in 2016, and the award reverted to the Ballon d’Or, while FIFA also reverted to its own separate annual award The Best FIFA Men’s Player. The recipients of the joint FIFA Ballon d’Or are considered as winners by both award organisations.

    TNG reports five players of reigning European champions, Chelsea are included in the 2021 Ballon d’Or list in the form of Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Romelu Lukaku and Cesar Azpilicueta.

    Others who made the shortlist are Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Pedri, Riyad Mahrez, Mohamed Salah, Bruno Fernandes, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Karim Benzema, Kevin De Bruyne, Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski.

    See full Ballon d’Or list below:

    1. Cesar Azpilicueta
    2. Nicolo Barella
    3. Karim Benzema
    4. Leonard Bonucci
    5. Kevin De Bruyne
    6. Giorgio Chiellini
    7. Cristiano Ronaldo
    8. Ruben Dias
    9. Gianluigi Donnarumma
    10. Bruno Fernandes
    11. Phil Foden
    12. Erling Haaland
    13. Harry Kane
    14. Jorginho
    15. N’Golo Kante
    16. Simon Kjaer
    17. Robert Lewandowski
    18. Romelu Lukaku
    19. Riyad Mahrez
    20. Lautaro Martinez
    21. Kylian Mbappe
    22. Lionel Messi
    23. Luka Modric
    24. Gerard Moreno
    25. Mason Mount
    26. Neymar
    27. Pedri
    28. Mohamed Salah
    29. Raheem Sterling
    30. Luis Suarez

     

  • FIFA set to postpone Club World Cup

    FIFA set to postpone Club World Cup

    FIFA are set to postpone the Club World Cup until next year.

    Chelsea were due to play in the mini tournament from December 9 to 19 as the reigning Champions League winners.

    Japan have had to withdraw as hosts over safety concerns because of the state of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

    FIFA will make a decision on an alternate host at their next Council meeting on October 20.

    It is likely to be switched until early 2022.