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Tag: Fifa

  • FIFA awards: Full list of nominees

    FIFA awards: Full list of nominees

    The final nominees for a host of The Best FIFA Football Award have been revealed at an event in London, with the countdown to the ceremony itself in England’s capital on 23 October now well and truly on.

    The Best FIFA Men’s Player 2016 Cristiano Ronaldo is once more in the final three, with long-time rival for FIFA’s top individual award Lionel Messi also in the top trio, alongside his former Barcelona team-mate Neymar.

    It’s also a return to the top table for The Best FIFA Women’s Player 2016 Carli Lloyd, who remains in the running alongside 18-year-old Venezuelan prodigy Deyna Castellanos and Netherlands and Barça star Lieke Martens.

    There’s a distinct sentimento italiano in the list of The Best FIFA Men’s Coach finalists, with former Juventus player and 2016 finalist Zinedine Zidane in the final three once more, while the Italian duo of Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri and former Gli Azzurri midfielder Antonio Conte both make their debut in the list of finalists. It’s a totally new top three for The Best FIFA Women’s Coach, with Denmark’s Nils Nielsen, Olympique Lyonnais coach Gerard Precheur and the Netherlands’ Sarina Wiegman all finalists for the first time.

    Other highlights from today’s announcement in London, with FIFA Legends Roberto Di Matteo, Jay Jay Okocha, Alex Scott, Andriy Shevchenko and Peter Shilton in attendance, saw the nominees for the inaugural The Best FIFA Goalkeeper award announced. Gianluigi Buffon, Keylor Navas and Manuel Neuer make up the first ever shortlist for the award recognising the game’s top custodians.

    Also, the ten candidates for the FIFA Puskás Award and the three finalists for the FIFA Fan Award were revealed – with voting now open to fans across the world.

    The Best announcement in full

    Men’s Player
    * Cristiano Ronaldo (POR / Real Madrid)
    * Lionel Messi (ARG – FC Barcelona)
    * Neymar (BRA – FC Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain)

    Women’s Player
    * Deyna Castellanos (VEN – Santa Clarita Blue Heat/Florida State Seminoles)
    * Carli Lloyd (USA – Houston Dash/Manchester City Women)
    * Lieke Martens (NED – FC Barcelona Femeni)

    Men’s Coach
    * Massimiliano Allegri (ITA – Juventus)
    * Antonio Conte (ITA – Chelsea)
    * Zinedine Zidane (FRA – Real Madrid)

    Women’s Coach
    * Nils Nielsen (DEN – Danish national team)
    * Gerard Precheur (FRA – Olympique Lyonnais Feminin)
    * Sarina Wiegman (NED – Netherlands national team)

    Goalkeeper
    * Gianluigi Buffon (ITA – Juventus)
    * Keylor Navas (CRC – Real Madrid)
    * Manuel Neuer (GER – FC Bayern Munich)

    Puskas Award
    * Kevin-Prince Boateng (Las Palmas)
    * Alejandro Camargo (Universidad de Concepcion)
    * Deyna Castellanos (Venezuela U-17)
    * Moussa Dembele (Celtic)
    * Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
    * Aviles Hurtado (Tijuana Xolos)
    * Mario Mandzukic (Juventus)
    * Oscarine Masuluke (Baroka FC)
    * Nemanja Matic (Chelsea)
    * Jordi Mboula (FC Barcelona U-19)

    Fan Award
    * Borussia Dortmund supporters
    * Celtic supporters
    * FC Copenhagen supporters

  • FIFA honours Kanu with U17 World Cup draw role

    FIFA honours Kanu with U17 World Cup draw role

    World football governing body FIFA has honoured former Nigeria captain Nwankwo Kanu as one of the star players to participate in tomorrow’s draw for this year’s U17 World Cup in India.

    The draw ceremony will be staged at the Mumbai Sahara Star Hotel.

    Kanu scored five goals as Nigeria won the 1993 U17 World Cup in Japan.

    However, the Golden Eaglets, who won the last edition of the tournament in Chile two years ago, will not be in India to defend their crown after they failed to qualify for this year’s African championship.

    Africa will be represented by Mali, Ghana, Guinea and Niger.

    Six Indian cities will play host to the competition with the final to be played in Kolkata on October 28.

  • Nigeria drops to 39th spot on FIFA World Rankings

    Nigeria drops to 39th spot on FIFA World Rankings

    The Super Eagles have dropped to the 39th spot from 38th in the July FIFA World Rankings.

    The rankings table on FIFA’s website on Thursday indicated that Nigeria now has 715 points as against 730 it had in the June rankings.

    The ranking also saw the national team become sixth in Africa behind Egypt, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tunisia and Cameroon respectively as against Nigeria’s fourth position on the continent in June.

    On the global scene, Germany capped a sensational week on the international stage by returning to the top of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time since being knocked off the spot exactly two years ago.

    Following their 1-0 win over Chile in the FIFA Confederations Cup Final in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the newly crowned champions have narrowly overtaken Brazil (2nd, down by 1 point) and leapfrogged Argentina (3rd, down by 1 point).

    European neighbours, Poland (6th, up 4) also have cause to celebrate, having risen to their best-ever ranking.

    Spain, however, dropped from the first ten to now place 11th.

     

     

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  • I regret not leaving FIFA earlier – Blatter

    I regret not leaving FIFA earlier – Blatter

    Disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, has admitted that he regretted not stepping down earlier.

    Blatter was forced out as head of world football’s governing body amid a corruption scandal in 2015.

    The 81-year-old was banned over ethics breaches, following a suspect two million Swiss franc ($2 million, 1.8 million euro) payment to ex-UEFA president, Michel Platini.

    It brought an end to this 17-year regin as FIFA chief.

    “I should have stopped myself earlier,” Blatter said in an interview published by Swiss newspaper SonntagsBlick, adding that his ousting as FIFA boss was “a relief”.

    He also recalled that the editor-in-chief of a Swiss magazine, warned him that the role of FIFA president had an expiration date.

    “‘At your place the date is 2014’, he told me, and I said to him that sometimes it’s written that the product can be consumed beyond this date if it’s stored in a cool place,” Blatter added.

  • Infantino ‘confident’ in 2022 despite Qatar crisis

    FIFA is confident the diplomatic crisis sweeping Qatar will normalise and not threaten the 2022 World Cup, the organisation’s president, Gianni Infantino, said in an interview published Sunday.

    “We are facing a diplomatic crisis,” Infantino told Switzerland’s Le Matin Dimanche newspaper. “I am confident the region will return to a normal situation.”

    He told the paper FIFA was “closely watching the evolving situation and we are in regular contact with the highest authorities in Qatar.”

    But he stressed that Qatar’s World Cup was five years away.

    “Obviously, if football can offer a small contribution to improve the situation, I won’t hesitate to offer my help,” he said, while adding that FIFA should stay clear of “geopolitics.”

    Saudi Arabia and allies including the UAE and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting extremism.

    The move triggered the most serious diplomatic flap to hit the region in years and experts have said it could impact the 2022 World Cup.

    Since being controversially chosen by FIFA in 2010 as the host, Qatar has maintained that it is a politically secure nation despite its location in a volatile region.

    Doha has also emphasised that the tournament serves the entire Gulf, and not just the tiny gas-rich emirate.

    Those claims have faced fresh scrutiny during the crisis, possibly invigorating a campaign by critics of Qatar to strip Doha of the tournament.

  • FIFA appoints retired Nigerian judge into Ethics Committee

    A retired Nigerian Judge, Ayotunde Phillip, has been appointed into the newly-constituted FIFA Ethics Committee at the Congress of the world football governing body taking place in Manama, Bahrain.

    The 68-year-old who studied law at the University of Lagos, was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1974 and spent her compulsory National Youth Service Corps year in the then East Central State of Nigeria.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Philip was the fourth female Chief Judge of Lagos State.

    She retired from the High Court Bench in July 2014 upon the attainment of the statutory retirement age of 65 years.

    She had by then served the Lagos State Government for 38 years out of which 20 years were spent on the High Court Bench.

     

  • FIFA, NFF, Chelsea, others celebrate Mikel Obi as he clocks 30

    FIFA, NFF, Chelsea, others celebrate Mikel Obi as he clocks 30

    World football governing body, FIFA, have led the celebrations for Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi on his 30th birthday.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Mikel, who burst into limelight as a teenager at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2005, clocked 30 on Saturday (today).

    FIFA also extended birthday wishes to former World player of the year and Brazil international Kaka, Hungarian star Zoltan Gera and Ingrid Vidal via its official twitter handle.

    Mikel’s Nigeria teammate, Ogenyi Onazi, also sent him wishes on Twitter.

    Onazi wrote:”Happy birthday to you skippo. Wish you long life and God’s blessings.”

    A tweet on the official handle of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) celebrating Mikel reads: “Happy birthday @NGSuperEagles magical captain, @mikel_john_obi. Shine on!”

    Mikel’s former club Chelsea, where he spent 10 years before leaving for China in January, also celebrated the midfielder in a tweet on their official handle.

    Chelsea wrote: “We also wish John Mikel Obi a very happy birthday!”

  • JUST IN: FIFA reveals $369m loss in 2016

    World football governing body FIFA revealed on Friday it made a loss of 369 million dollars in 2016 as legal costs rose following a series of corruption scandals.

    Accounts showed a total loss of and the organisation said 2017 would see further losses approaching 500 million dollars, though these can partly be explained by a switch in accounting practices.

    However, the 2018 accounts are predicted to be much healthier as they will include television income from the World Cup in Russia, leading to a predicted profit of more than one billion dollars.

    Explaining an increase in expenditure, FIFA said a “number of events caused these increases such as an increased budget for development expenses and higher competition costs, but also unforeseen costs such as legal fees and costs or extraordinary meetings.”

    Investigation and legal fees were marked down as 50.465 million dollars as the era of former president Joseph Blatter draws to a close.

    FIFA also blamed the Blatter regime for certain poor investments, such as the World Football Museum in Zurich, which proved costly.

    “The challenges of the past 12 months are reflected in our financial
    results for the year,” president Gianni Infantino said.

    “These results stand as a cautionary tale of what can happen if we lose sight of the primary responsibilities of our mission, and if we fail to take the necessary steps to protect our organisation against wrong-doing.”

    The organization made a loss in 2015 for the first time in 14 years but despite a second successive difficult year, retains cash reserves of 1.048 billion dollars.

    “FIFA’s healthy financial reserves, built up when the
    sun was shining as a prudent insurance against unforeseen risks, have served to further stabilize the organisation, and to give us the breathing space we need to put things right,” Infantino said.

    “This strong financial position overall means we are more than capable of weathering the current storm.

  • FIFA slams worldwide ban on Chris Giwa, four others

    FIFA slams worldwide ban on Chris Giwa, four others

     

    The Federation of International Football Association, FIFA has imposed a worldwide extension to Chris Giwa’s ban.

    The world football governing body, also handed down the same punishment to four other officials, who were involved in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) leadership tussle.

    They are: Muazu Suleyman, Yahaya Adama, Sani Fema and Johnson Effiong.

    “In accordance with art. 136ff of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to extend the five-year ban from taking part in any kind of football-related activity imposed on the five officials to have worldwide effect,” a statement from FIFA read.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that Giwa was first banned by the NFF in May 2016 , after they approached a civil court over the leadership tussle – an action that is against the federation’s statutes.

    The five-year sanction was later extended by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

     

  • FIFA World Player of the Year: All you need to know

    Don’t call it the Ballon d’Or! Who will win FIFA’s annual accolade at the award ceremony on Monday, January 9?

    FIFA’s newly-renovated World Player of the Year will be handed out on Monday, January 9 at The Best FIFA Football Awards 2016.

    But who will win, what trophies will be given out and why is it not called the Ballon d’Or any more? Goal explains all…

    Why not called the Ballon d’Or?

    France Football ran the Ballon d’Or from 1956 until 2009 before merging with FIFA’s World Player of the Year for the 2010 edition. For the next six years the prestigious trophy was given as part of an increasingly popular event.

    But Gianni Infantino’s new FIFA presidential regime – ushered in after Sepp Blatter’s undignified exit among relentless corruption allegations – opted to sever ties with the Ballon d’Or. From 2016 onwards, FIFA will be flying solo with their newly-branded ‘The Best’ award ceremony in January every year.

    Cristiano Ronaldo (winner in 2008) and Lionel Messi (winner in 2009) dominated the FIFA Ballon d’Or landscape, with the Real Madrid star winning twice and his Barcelona rival being crowned triumphant four more times.

    The winner of this reborn FIFA award will be decided by a combination of factors: 50 per cent of the vote is decided by votes by captains and coaches for every national team and 50% to be split by online voters and selected international journalists.

    The ‘new’ Ballon d’Or was awarded to Ronaldo last month.

    Who is favorite to win the FIFA World Player of the Year Award?

    Ronaldo is the overwhelming favourite to win the award of the three finalists having conquered the Champions League, Euro 2016 and the Club World Cup last year.

    Messi’s mesmerising performances for Barcelona and Argentina ensure he’s a contender once again this year. Antoine Griezmann reached two European finals in 2016, enjoying a breakout year at Atletico Madrid and for France. Both are outsiders to trump Ronaldo to the FIFA award.

    WHO WAS ON THE 23-MAN SHORTLIST?

    The 23 nominees for the FIFA World’s Best Player of the Year were (finalists in bold): Sergio Aguero (Manchester City/Argentina), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid/Wales), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus/Italy), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City/Belgium), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/France), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United/Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona/Spain), N’Golo Kante (Chelsea/France), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/Germany), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Poland), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City/Algeria), Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina), Luka Modric (Real Madrid/Croatia), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany), Neymar (Barcelona/Brazil), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal/Germany), Dimitri Payet (West Ham/France), Paul Pogba (Manchester United/France), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid/Spain), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal/Chile), Luis Suarez (Barcelona/Uruguay), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City/England).

    WHAT’S THE FULL LIST OF AWARDS?

    Best FIFA Men’s Player 2016 – The award for best male footballer in the world last year.

    Best FIFA Women’s Player 2016 – The award for best female footballer in the world last year. The three finalists are Melane Behringer (Bayern Munich/Germany), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash/USA) and Marta (FC Rosengard/Brazil).

    Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2016 – The award for the best coach of male teams last year. The three finalists are Claudio Ranieri (Leicester City), Fernando Santos (Portugal) and Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid).

    Best FIFA Women’s Coach 2016 – The nominees for best coach of the female teams last year are Jill Ellis (United States), Silvia Neid (Germany) and Pia Sundhage (Sweden).

    FIFA Puskas Award 2016 – The award for the best goal of 2016. The full list of the nominees – including Messi and Neymar – can be watched by clicking here.

    FIFA Fair Play Award 2016 – The award for the best moment of fair play last year. Previous winners have included Barcelona, World Cup 2006 fans, Paolo Di Canio and – last year – all football organisations supporting refugees.

    FIFA Fan Award 2016 – A new supporter award that will be won by one of these three nominees: ADO Den Haag fans, Borussia Dortmund/Liverpool fans (one single entry) and Iceland fans.

    FIFA FIFPro World11 – The award for the best 11 players from across the globe in a standard formation. Almost 25,000 players from an estimated 70 countries voted, according to FIFPRO, the worldwide union for professional footballers.

    WHO IS HOSTING THE AWARD CEREMONY?

    American actress Eva Longoria and German presenter Marco Schreyl will be hosting FIFA’s ‘The Best’ award ceremony in Zurich.

    The hype will build on Monday afternoon with the ceremony kicking off at 17:30 UK time (12:30 US East Coast time) with the “green carpet” guiding in some of football’s most recognisable faces.

    You’ll be able to follow the ceremony on Goal’s LIVE blog and get every update instantly on our social channels.