TheNewsGuru

Tag: Fifa

  • FIFA approves Stephen Keshi Stadium, as Obasanjo commissions main bowl

    World football governing body, Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) has approved the Stephen Keshi Stadium for international football championship.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick made this known on Sunday at Super Eagles arrival at the Asaba International Airport after their qualifying match for AFCON with the Bafana Bafana of South Africa.

    The NFF President stated that it was a thing of pride for the Super Eagles to travel through the Asaba International Airport.

    “When it was announced yesterday (Saturday) that we are boarding and flying to Asaba, it gave me great joy, it shows that God rules supreme in Delta State, we have qualified for AFCON and we are going to Cameroon to make great impact.

    “On behalf of NFF, I thank the Governor and the good people of Delta State for their show of enthusiasm since the Super Eagles came, that stadium is wonderful and the Super Eagles will beat Uganda in their friendly match, remember that the Ugandan Team has also qualified for AFCON,” Amaju said.

    Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo is in Delta state to commission some key projects of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, including the main bowl of the Stephen Keshi Stadium.

    The former president will also commission the old Lagos-Asaba road, Agbor and the Owa-Eke/Owa-Alero road in Ika North East Local Government Area.

     

  • Breaking: Saudi Arabia crowned AFC U-19 champions

    Breaking: Saudi Arabia crowned AFC U-19 champions

    Asia’s qualifying competition for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019 came to a close on Sunday, with Saudi Arabia edging past Korea Republic 2-1 in Cibinong, Indonesia to claim their third continental title.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the Saudis maintained an unblemished record heading in to the final, including a 3-1 win over Australia in the quarter-final clash which sealed their passage to Poland.

    Korea Republic also went unbeaten en route to the final. They got past a resilient Tajikistan side in the last-eight to book their place at next year’s global showpiece.

    Elsewhere, AFC U-19 Championship holders Japan started the tournament with three wins in a row before downing hosts Indonesia 2-0 to complete their qualifying mission.

    Despite losing narrowly to the United Arab Emirates 2-1 in the opener, Qatar bounced back to win their next three outings as they sealed their return to the U-20 World Cup.

    Japan, Korea Republic, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will now represent the Asian continent at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.

     

  • World Cup: Qatar 2022 could feature 48 teams – FIFA

    The expansion of the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams could be brought forward from 2022 to 2026, says Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

    The change would require Qatar to share 2022 hosting duties with other countries in the region.
    The decision has already been taken to expand the tournament in 2026, when it will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico, and Infantino is now considering doing the same for 2022.
    “If it is possible, why not?” he said.
    “We have to see if it is possible, if it is feasible. We are discussing with our Qatari friends, we are discussing with our many other friends in the region and we hope that this can happen.
    “And, if not, we will have tried. We will have tried because we always have to try to do things in a better way.”
    Speaking at the opening of the Asian Football Confederation’s new headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Infantino also reiterated his plans to expand the Club World Cup.
    He said he wants to make it a “real competition” that “every club in the world can target”.

  • FIFA doubles prize money for 2019 Women’s World Cup

    FIFA will raise the prize money for the Women’s World Cup from 15 million dollars to 30 million dollars.
    The raise is starting with next year’s edition in France, FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced on Friday, though critics immediately said the increase was not enough.
    Following a FIFA council meeting in Rwanda, the Swiss-Italian also said that 20 million dollars would be made available for pre-tournament preparations, meaning that 50 million in total would be allocated across the 24 participating nations.
    The prize money is double the amount awarded in the 2015 World Cup in Canada and for the first time clubs will be rewarded for their players taking part in the tournament, as is the case in the men’s edition.
    “It’s a very important message for women’s football. It will certainly boost this World Cup even more,” Infantino told a news conference.
    However, global footballers’ union FIFpro said the changes were not enough to redress the inequality between men’s and women’s football worldwide.
    “FIFPro notes the willingness of FIFA to increase prize money for the Women’s World Cup and make structural improvements to support women’s football.
    ” However, despite these changes football remains even further from the goal of equality for all World Cup players regardless of gender,” a FIFpro statement said.
    “In reality, the changes actually signify an increase in the gap between men’s and women’s prize money. This regressive trend appears to contravene FIFA’s statutory commitment to gender equality.
    “We strongly support our members, women’s national-team players in multiple countries, who have written to FIFA in recent days expressing their dismay about the distribution of prize money.”
    Players’ unions in Australia, Norway, Sweden and New Zealand had written to world soccer’s governing body to protest that even with women’s prize money being doubled, the rewards in the men’s game still dwarf the new amounts.
    The total prize money for this year’s men’s World Cup in Russia was $400m, with champions France receiving $38m.
    The letter from Australia’s PFA argued: “For the group stage alone, players in Australia Men National Football Team, Socceroos, have shared 2.4 million dollars for the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.
    Meanwhile, Australia women’s national soccer team, the Matildas will only share 0.225 million dollars , less than 10 percent.
    “If the Matildas are to become World Champions, they will only receive 50 percent of what the Socceroos received for qualifying for Russia.”
    Infantino said that FIFA was committed to consistently increasing investment and cited the launch of a new strategy for women’s football earlier this month.
    The strategy included plans to strengthen the game in all 211 member associations.
    “Clearly… we want to invest more and earmark more for women’s football and not only for the best 24 teams in the world who play the World Cup.
    ”We have increased significantly the allocations and prize monies, but we have a duty to do so all over the world,” he said.
    “Also in these regulations there are specific requirements for all associations in the world that in order to receive the necessary grants they have to organise women’s competitions, otherwise they don’t receive these grants.”
    Reuters/NAN

  • Nigeria move up four spots, now placed 44th on FIFA ranking

    Nigeria move up four spots, now placed 44th on FIFA ranking

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles have moved up four spots to the 44th position in the world on the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Ranking
    In the ranking table published on the website of the world football governing body on Thursday, Nigeria garnered 1431 points as against 1415 it had in September.
    The movement has now placed Nigeria in the third position in Africa behind Tunisia and Senegal.
    The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that it was during the period in review, that the Eagles thrashed Libya 4-0 (home) and 3-2 (away) in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
    Tunisia is ranked 22nd in the world and Senegal 25th. Congo DR ranked 46th and Morocco, 47th, are the other African countries among the top 50.
    On the global scene, Belgium are now ranked world number one, ahead of France with the narrowest of margin–just one point in the new the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking published today. The Belgians have 1733 points to France’s 1732 points.
    In September, the two countries were tied on the first spot.
    NAN

  • Belgium take outright top spot in new FIFA rankings

    Belgium take outright top spot in new FIFA rankings

    Belgium have edged ahead of France to take outright top spot in FIFA’s world rankings released on Thursday.
    Tiny Gibraltar were the biggest risers, thanks to their first two competitive wins this month.
    Belgium and France had been tied at the top last month.
    While both sides won one game and drew another in October, the Belgians, with 1,733 points, moved ahead by a single point under the formula for calculating the rankings.
    Belgium beat Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League and drew with the Netherlands in a friendly.
    World champions France defeated Germany in the UEFA Nations League and were held by Iceland in a friendly.
    Brazil, one of only two non-European sides in the top 10 along with Uruguay, remain third, followed by Croatia and England.
    Gibraltar, who only became FIFA members in 2016, rose eight places to their best ranking of 190th thanks to their UEFA Nations League wins in Armenia and at home to Liechtenstein.
    Madagascar, who earlier this month qualified for their first African Nations Cup finals, climbed into the top 100 for the first time since 2002, after being ranked 100th.
    Tunisia, 22nd, were the highest ranked African team and Iran, 30th, the top Asian side.
    Reuters/NAN

  • FIFA keen to set up mini World Cup

    FIFA keen to set up mini World Cup

    FIFA’s ruling council are set to discuss president Gianni Infantino’s plans for two new global tournaments when it meets later this week.
    Infantino wants to introduce a ‘mini World Cup’, which would mirror the format of UEFA’s Nations League, and an expanded version of FIFA’s Club World Cup, Sky Sports report.
    FIFA’s ruling council meets in Kigali, Rwanda, with the two tournaments featuring among the items for discussion on Friday according to the agenda document.
    However, there has been backlash to the plans already, with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin describing them as “highly cynical and ruthless mercantilism” along with accusing FIFA of selling the soul of the game.
    The tournaments have the potential to be highly lucrative for FIFA, with Infantino having revealed to FIFA Council members in May that his plans are backed by a “solid and serious” group of investors willing to spend £19 billion over a 12-year cycle starting in 2021.
    The letter did not outline the identity of the investors but several media reports have stated that Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group is heading the consortium, which also includes Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund.
    The proposals, which would bring about major changes to the international calendar, outline what would effectively be a mini World Cup, featuring eight international teams, every two years in addition to the traditional event.
    The tournament, known as the ‘Final 8’, would be the climax of a proposed global Nations League competition, taking place in October and November of every odd year starting from 2021. Meanwhile, the Confederations Cup would be abolished.
    The annual Club World Cup, which currently features seven teams, would be expanded to 24 teams and take place just once every four years, according to the proposals.

  • Three NFF officials docked over alleged misappropriation of $9.5m FIFA grant

    Three NFF officials docked over alleged misappropriation of $9.5m FIFA grant

    Three officials of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) were on Thursday docked in an FCT High Court at Maitama, accused of misappropriating 9.5 million Dollars and $1. 3 million.
    The defendants are Christopher Andekin, NFF Director of Administration and Finance, Reagan Zaka, Cashier and Fadanari Mamza, Head, Finance and Account Department.
    They were dragged to the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and misappropriation.
    The prosecutor, Mr Steve Odiase told the court that the three defendants conspired between Jan. 8 and Jan. 26, 2015 to commit the offences, contrary to Section 97 of Penal Code.
    Odiase alleged that Andekin was entrusted with money meant for the development of football in Nigeria, a grant from the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).
    He said that Andekin however fraudulently diverted $1.3 million from the NFF domiciliary account with Zenith Bank, an act that is contrary to section 311 of the Penal Code.
    He further alleged that Zaka on his part, fraudulently diverted 7. 2 million Dollar grant from FIFA for development of football in Nigeria while Mamza diverted $2. 3 million.
    The defendants all pleaded not guilty to the charges, and their counsel, Mr Arinze Egbo applied for their bail.
    The Judge, Justice Peter Affen upheld the administrative bail granted to them earlier by the EFCC.
    In addition, he ordered that the sureties should sign bond with the registrar of the court, and the defendants should deposit their International passports.
    Affen then adjourned until Nov. 27, for commencement of trial.
    NAN

  • EFCC to arraign NFF director, Andekin for allegedly diverting N3.4bn FIFA fund

    A Federal Capital Territory High Court has fixed October 18 for the arraignment of a Director in the Nigeria Football Federation, Christopher Andekin, and two other officials who were accused of perpetrating fraud to the tune of $9.5m (N3.4bn).
    The EFCC said in a statement by its spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, that Andekin, who is the Director of Finance, as well as the cashier, Rajan Zaka, and the Head, Finance and Accounts, Jafaru Mamza, were supposed to have been arraigned on Monday on five counts of fraud.
    However, the arraignment could not hold because their counsel said he had just been served with the charge sheet and therefore asked for more time to study the charges.
    The trio in 2015 allegedly diverted money to the tune of $9,535,923.87 belonging to the federation to personal use. The money was a grant given by the Federation of International Football Association, for the development of football in Nigeria.
    It is also alleged that Andekin fraudulently diverted N1, 353,407.22 from the domiciliary account of the NFF domiciled in one of the new generation banks, without due process.
    Particulars of one of the counts read, “That you, Christopher Andekin, being the Director of Admin and Finance of the Nigeria Football Federation on or about 8th day of January to 26th day of January 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja while being entrusted with dominion over money meant for the development of football in Nigeria, a grant from the Federation of International Football Association to NFF fraudulently, diverted the sum of N1,353,407.22 from the NFF domiciliary account No. 5070407456 with the Zenith Bank into your personal use and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code Cap 532 LFN 1990 and punishable under Section 312 of the same Code.”
    Another count read, “That you, Rajan Zaka, being a cashier with the Nigeria Football Federation in Abuja within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja while being entrusted with dominion over money meant for the development of football in Nigeria, a grant from the Federation of International Football Association to NFF fraudulently, diverted the sum of $6,490,900.48 from the NFF domiciliary account No. 5070407456 with the Zenith Bank into your personal use and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311 of the Penal Code Cap 532 LFN 1990 and punishable under Section 312 of the same Code.”
    Justice Affem asked the parties to come on October 18 for the arraignment.

  • FIFA wants 60m female players by 2026

    Global football governing body, FIFA wants to create an international women’s club competition as it aims to double global participation in the women’s game to 60 million by 2026.

    The plans are part of the governing body’s first “global strategy” for women’s football, launched on Tuesday.
    New competitions are being considered as part of a review and other examples include a “FIFA Women’s World League”.
    The men’s Club World Cup – founded in 2000 and won by Real Madrid in 2017 – does not yet have a female equivalent.
    Youth development tournaments and a FIFA women’s futsal competition are also among the potential plans.
    In addition, the governing body wants to double the number of member associations that have organised youth leagues for female players by 2026.
    Other goals include ensuring all member associations have at least one woman on their executive committee by the same year, and that by 2022, at least one third of Fifa committee members are women.
    Secretary general Fatma Samoura said: “As FIFA’s first female secretary general, I am proud to launch our first global strategy for women’s football.
    “We will work hand-in-hand with our 211 member associations around the world to increase grassroots participation, enhance the commercial value of the women’s game and strengthen the structures surrounding women’s football.
    “Most importantly it will make football more accessible to girls and women and encourage female empowerment, a subject of great importance, now more than ever before.”
    In September, a FIFA report found that women’s football clubs had spent £375,000 on international transfers in 2018, compared with £5.4bn in the men’s game.
    England and Scotland have qualified for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, where 24 nations will compete in the competition’s eighth finals.
    BBC