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Tag: Fifa

  • FIFA lodges criminal complaint against Sepp Blatter

    FIFA lodges criminal complaint against Sepp Blatter

    Fifa has lodged a criminal complaint against former president Sepp Blatter over the finances of a museum in Zurich, Switzerland.

    The complaint relates to the involvement of Blatter and other former officials in the Fifa museum project.

    It is the latest allegation of financial impropriety against Blatter, who resigned from his post as president in 2015 amid a corruption scandal.

    The 84-year-old has always denied any wrongdoing.

    Fifa, football’s world governing body, say Blatter’s previous administration cost them 500m Swiss francs (£420m) to renovate “a building that the organisation doesn’t own”, while also “locking itself into a long-term rental agreement on unfavourable terms”.

    “Given the massive costs associated with this museum, as well as the general way of working of the previous Fifa management, a forensic audit was conducted in order to find out what really happened here,” said Alasdair Bell, Fifa’s deputy secretary general (administration).

    “That audit revealed a wide range of suspicious circumstances and management failures, some of which may be criminal in nature and need to be properly investigated by the relevant authorities.

    “We came to the conclusion that we had no choice other than to report the case to state prosecutors, not least because the current management of Fifa also has fiduciary responsibilities to the organisation and we intend to live up to them, even if those before us dismally failed to.”

    The complaint has been sent to the Zurich prosecutor, and Fifa says it will “continue to cooperate with the authorities in Switzerland and elsewhere so that those people who damaged football are held accountable for their actions”.

    The museum project began in 2013, two years before Blatter, who was Fifa president for 17 years, announced his resignation.

    In response, Blatter’s lawyer Lorenz Erni, says Fifa’s accusations are “baseless and vehemently repudiated”.

    Blatter is currently serving a six-year ban from all forms of football.

  • Retire No. 10 shirt after Maradona death – Villas-Boas

    Retire No. 10 shirt after Maradona death – Villas-Boas

    Olympique de Marseille manager, Andre Villas-Boas has called on FIFA to retire the number 10 shirt from the game to honour Argentine great Diego Maradona.

    Maradona died aged 60 on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack.

    He was regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, with fans in Argentina referring to him as ‘El Dios’ – which means ‘The God’.

    Maradona’s former club Napoli have not used the No. 10 shirt since 2000 as a mark of respect for the player who guided them to several trophies.

    “Maradona, yes it is tough news, I would like FIFA to retire the number 10 shirt in all competitions, for all teams,”

    “It would be the best homage we could do for him. He is an incredible loss for the world of football.”

    FIFA has previously said it would not allow Argentina to dispense with the number.

  • BREAKING: FIFA bans CAF President, Ahmad Ahmad from football

    BREAKING: FIFA bans CAF President, Ahmad Ahmad from football

    World’s football governing body, Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) has handed the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Ahmad Ahmad a five-year ban.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the independent Ethics Committee of FIFA found Ahmad guilty of financial misconduct, with the ban set to affect his ambition to contest for the CAF presidency next year.

    The adjudicatory chamber ruled that, based on information gathered by the investigatory chamber, Mr Ahmad had breached his duty of loyalty, offered gifts and other benefits, mismanaged funds and abused his position as the CAF President, pursuant to the FIFA Code of Ethics.

    Ahmad was sanctioned with a ban from all football-related activity, administrative, sports or any other, at both national and international level for five years. In addition, a fine in the amount of CHF 200,000 has been imposed on Mr Ahmad.

    A statement by the committee reads: “The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has found Ahmad Ahmad, the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and a FIFA Vice-President, guilty of having breached art. 15 (Duty of loyalty), art. 20 (Offering and accepting gifts or other benefits) and art. 25 (Abuse of position) of the 2020 edition of the FIFA Code of Ethics, as well as art. 28 (Misappropriation of funds) of the 2018 edition.

    “The investigation into Mr Ahmad’s conduct in his position as CAF President during the period from 2017 to 2019 concerned various CAF-related governance issues, including the organisation and financing of an Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca, his involvement in CAF’s dealings with the sports equipment company Tactical Steel and other activities.

    “In its decision, following an extensive hearing, the adjudicatory chamber ruled that, based on information gathered by the investigatory chamber, Mr Ahmad had breached his duty of loyalty, offered gifts and other benefits, mismanaged funds and abused his position as the CAF President, pursuant to the FIFA Code of Ethics.

    “Consequently, the adjudicatory chamber found that Mr Ahmad had breached arts 15, 20 and 25 of the current edition of the FIFA Code of Ethics, as well as art. 28 of the 2018 edition, and sanctioned him with a ban from all football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level for five years. In addition, a fine in the amount of CHF 200,000 has been imposed on Mr Ahmad.

    “The terms of the decision were notified to Mr Ahmad today, the date on which the ban comes into force. In accordance with art. 78 par. 2 of the FIFA Code of Ethics, the full, motivated decision will be notified to Mr Ahmad in the next 60 days, after which it will be published on legal.fifa.com”.

  • FIFA proposes mandatory maternity leave for women players

    FIFA proposes mandatory maternity leave for women players

    FIFA is to introduce new regulations to protect the rights of women players, including mandatory maternity leave, the world football governing body said on Thursday.

    The reforms have been put forward by FIFA’s Football Stakeholders Committee (FSC) and will go to FIFA’s Council in December for approval.

    While many players in Europe are already protected by employment laws in their given countries, FIFA says its aim is to create “new global minimum standards” for female players all over the world.

    It said the regulations were necessary given the rapid emergence of new clubs and leagues globally.

    The proposed rules include a mandatory maternity leave of 14 weeks, at a minimum of two-thirds of the player’s contracted salary.

    In addition to this, there will be a guarantee that “no female player should suffer a disadvantage as a result of becoming pregnant”.

    The planned regulations also state that on their return to work after maternity leave, clubs must “reintegrate female players and provide adequate medical and physical support”.

    Women players’ contractual rights were already covered by the existing regulations for all footballers but the changes are a bid to address specific concerns for female players.

    It is also to be viewed as a basic minimum that can be applied in all countries.

    “As we try to accelerate the professionalism of the women’s game, which is one of our strategic objectives, it is really important that we evolve and adapt the regulatory framework around the game at the same time.

    “This is a very good example,” Sarai Bareman, FIFA’s Chief Women’s Football Officer, told reporters.

    “We want to see more women being able to earn a living playing football whilst at the same time being able to have a family life and being mothers.

    “It is important that we provide the necessary regulatory framework to protect those women,” she added.

    The new regulations also seek to address problems for coaches working internationally.

    Until now coaches’ contracts have been subject to the same regulations as players, but FIFA wants to introduce specific language to deal with the rights of coaches.

    “The aim is to protect contractual stability, achieve greater transparency and make sure that coaches also get paid on time,” FIFA said in a statement.

  • FIFA to push on with new ‘cap’ and rules for agents

    FIFA to push on with new ‘cap’ and rules for agents

    FIFA announced last September a cap that would limit agents of the selling club to 10 per cent of the transfer fee, and 3per cent of the player’s fee for agents of the buying club.

    The new regulations, which are scheduled to take effect in January, 2022, will also force agents to become licensed and undergo an exam conducted by FIFA, as well as make public all transactions, allowing fans to see how much agents are paid on deals.

    FIFA said on Thursday that it is starting its third and final “consultation process” on the new regulations before submitting the reforms to a vote at the FIFA Council with the aim of bringing them into effect next season.

    Leading agents have been critical of the proposals and threatened legal action.

    Emilio Garcia Silvero, FIFA’s Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, told reporters that the ruling body would continue to consult with agents, but was determined to push forward with the changes.

    “If we can’t agree with the agents then we will move ahead. We are committed to this,” he said, adding that the proposals should not be seen as hostile to agents.

    “This is not a project against the agents, this is a project for the agent, that is a very important message,” he said.

    “We would like to work with them; they play a highly relevant role in football.

    “There are hundreds and thousands who are operating in a proper way,” added Garcia Silvero, who said a new Football Agents Disputes Tribunal would help agents who found them not getting paid on international deals.

    “This is not a project against agents, those who see this (as) a project against agents, it is because they are hiding something,” he added.

    “There are a big group of agents who are also happy with the basic principles and we are all committed to reach a final agreement and a consensus.”

    FIFA said that commissions paid to agents involved in international transfers totalled a record $653.9 million in 2019, four times more than they earned in 2015.

    The process of becoming an agent will involve a “character test” and an annual fee as well as continued education and relevant insurance will all be compulsory.

    Agents will be barred from holding any interest, directly or indirectly, in a football club or a federation or other football body.

    Contracts for commissions should be set out in advance in writing under the new system, which aims to end late claims for commissions when a deal is being closed.

    A previous much looser licence scheme was abandoned by FIFA in 2015.

  • FIFA chief Infantino tests positive for COVID-19

    FIFA chief Infantino tests positive for COVID-19

    FIFA president Gianni Infantino has contracted coronavirus, the world’s governing body announced on Tuesday.

    The 50-year-old has mild symptoms and will remain in isolation for a further 10 days, FIFA said in a statement.

    “All people who came into contact with the FIFA President during the last few days have been informed accordingly and they are being requested to take the necessary steps,” the statement said. “FIFA sincerely wishes President Infantino a speedy recovery.”

    Infantino has travelled little during the coronavirus pandemic, but he attended a signing ceremony at the White House last month to mark normalised relations for Israel with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

    Infantino’s infection comes as Switzerland reports a spike in COVID-19 cases. Switzerland has reported 127,000 cases this year, with more than 23,000 since last Friday.

  • How NFF and FIFA celebrated Ahmed Musa at 28

    How NFF and FIFA celebrated Ahmed Musa at 28

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Fifa have celebrated with Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa on his birthday.

    The forward was born on October 14, 1992, in Maiduguri, and has been sent wonderful messages on his 28th birthday.

    The forward has enjoyed great success on the international scene since breaking into the limelight at the 2010 Wafu Nations Cup, hosted in Nigeria.

    The football governing bodies have sent birthday wishes to the winger, recollecting his impressive showings for Nigeria.

  • FIFA reject ex-Spain forward switch to Morocco

    FIFA reject ex-Spain forward switch to Morocco

    Fifa have blocked the proposed nationality switch of former Spain international and Sevilla forward Munir El-Haddadi, who had hoped to make his international debut for Morocco during the current international window.

    According to a statement issued by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, the player’s nationality switch has been blocked not because of his appearance with Spain’s senior time, but because of earlier outings with the U-21s when he was already 21.

    “This rejection is dictated by one of the clauses of the new [Fifa] statue concerning [Munir’s] participation in the under-21 category,” the statement began, “in particular during three matches with the Spanish U-21 selection when he was two months older.

    “The decision is not motivated by the participation of El-Haddadi in the Spanish A team.”

  • FIFA approves ex-German player switch to Super Eagles

    FIFA approves ex-German player switch to Super Eagles

    Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) President, Amaju Pinnick has confirmed Fifa’s approval of Kevin Akpoguma to switch allegiance to Nigeria.

    The defender was born to a German mother and a Nigerian father and has represented Germany at various youth levels.

    Akpoguma is, however, still eligible to feature for the Super Eagles since he is yet to play for the European country’s senior team.

    The centre-back has been delivering consistent performances for Bundesliga side Hoffenheim since joining the club in 2015.

    Last season, he made 18 league appearances for the Kraichgauer to help his side finish sixth in the campaign.

    Ahead of the West Africans’ friendlies against Algeria and Tunisia on October 9 and 13 respectively, Pinnick revealed the 25-year-old has been given the green light to play for Nigeria.

    “I’m extremely happy to announce that Fifa has just granted Hoffenheim defender and former German U20 national team skipper Kevin Ufuoma Akpoguma permission to make his switch to Nigeria with immediate effect,” Pinnick tweeted.

    Akpoguma has already linked up with Gernot Rohr’s men in Austria, who are preparing for their games against the Desert Foxes and the Carthage Eagles.

  • Paraguayan club president gets lifetime ban for match manipulation

    Paraguayan club president gets lifetime ban for match manipulation

    The president of Paraguayan club Olimpia, one of the most successful in South America, has been banned for life from football, global football body FIFA said on Monday.

    FIFA said the official, Marco Trovato, who has held the position since 2014, was banned after being found guilty of match manipulation.

    He had also failed to collaborate during disciplinary proceedings.

    FIFA said the decision was related to “a series of matches which took place between 2018 and 2019”.

    It however did not say which matches were involved or which competitions they were played in.

    Trovato was also fined 100,000 Swiss francs (107,921 dollars), FIFA said.

    Olimpia have won the South American Copa Libertadores three times and the Paraguayan championship on a record 44 occasions.