The Nation Newspaper

Tag: FIFA

  • ZAMBIA VS NIGERIA: FIFA appoints Grisha

    ZAMBIA VS NIGERIA: FIFA appoints Grisha

    • Egyptian referees to handle World Cup game
    • Bassey on duty in Brazzaville

    Football’s world ruling body, FIFA, has appointed Egyptian Ghead Grisha as referee for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between Zambia’s Chipolopolo and Nigeria’s Super Eagles in Ndola on Sunday, October 9, 2016.

    Grisha, 40, has been a FIFA referee since 2008. He will be assisted by fellow Egyptians Tahssen Abo El Sadat Bedyer (assistant referee 1), Ahmed Hossameldin Taha (assistant referee 2) and Ibrahim Noureldin (Fourth Official).

    Also appointed is renown former FIFA referee Zeli Sinko (from Cote d’Ivoire), who will serve as referee assessor, while former Ghana FA president Mahamadu Nuru Deen Jawula will be match commissioner.

    The match has been scheduled to kick off at the Levy Nwanawasa Stadium in Ndola at 2.30pm Zambia time (1.30pm Nigeria time) on Sunday, 9th October.

    Grisha, incidentally, was in charge of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) group phase clash between the Super Eagles and the Chipolopolo, at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, which ended 1-1.

    The Super Eagles went ahead to eventually win that Cup of Nations tournament.

    FIFA has also appointed respected Nigerian official Paul Bassey to serve as security officer for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group E qualifier between Congo and Egypt, scheduled for the Stade de Kintele in Brazzaville on the same day.

    Beninoise official Bruno Arthur Didavi will be match commissioner for that game, with the referees from Cote d’Ivoire led by Denis Dembele.

    Jason Joseph Damoo from Seychelles will serve as referee assessor.

  • FIFA uphold Real, Atletico transfer ban

    FIFA uphold Real, Atletico transfer ban

    Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will be unable to register new players for the next two transfer windows after their appeals to FIFA were rejected on Thursday.

    The two clubs had been charged with breaching FIFA regulations relating to the protection and transfer of minors, Goal reports.

    Following FIFA’s decision, the Spanish sides will suffer a similar fate to that of Barcelona, who had previously been found guilty of breaking the laws in 2014.

    “The FIFA Appeal Committee has decided to reject the appeals lodged by Spanish clubs Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid and to confirm in their entirety the decisions rendered by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee in the respective cases relating to the protection of minors,” Goal quoted the committee as saying in a statement.

    “Both clubs are to serve a transfer ban that prevents them from registering any players at national and international level for the next two complete and consecutive registration periods for breaching articles 5, 9, 19 and 19bis as well as annexes 2 and 3 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (the “Regulations”).

    “The transfer ban applies to each club as a whole – with the exception of the women’s, futsal and beach soccer teams – and does not prevent the release of players.

    “Additionally, Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid have been fined CHF 900,000 and CHF 360,000 respectively, while both clubs have been issued with a reprimand and a warning and given 90 days in which to regularise the situation of all minor players concerned.”

  • CAF rejects Pinnick’s nomination for FIFA seat

    CAF rejects Pinnick’s nomination for FIFA seat

    Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Amaju Pinnick, will not vie for a FIFA council seat later this month after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) rejected his nomination for a place in the football’s world governing body.

    The elections into the FIFA Council hold on September 29 and CAF has shortlisted seven candidates for the polls.

    They are Almamy Kabele Camara (Guinea), Suketu Patel (Seychelles), Kwesi Nyantakyi (Ghana), Ahmad (Madagascar), Augustin Senghor (Senegal), Hamidou Djibrilla (Niger) and Chabur Goc Alei (South Sudan).

    The candidates will undergo the FIFA integrity test, before their names are finally ratified for the ballot, africanFootball.com reports.

  • FIFA probes South African, others for match-fixing

    FIFA probes South African, others for match-fixing

    FIFA’s ethics watchdog has opened formal proceedings against ex-South African football chief, Kirsten Nematandani and two other functionaries for allegedly fixing international friendlies in 2010, it said on Wednesday.

    The adjudicatory chamber of FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee said it opened cases against Nematandani, former Zimbabwe Football Association official, Jonathan Musavengana and former Togo national team coach, Bana Tchanile.

    Reuters reported that a FIFA investigator last week proposed at least a six-year ban and 10,000 Swiss franc ($10,340) fine for Nematandani over alleged ethics violations.

    The investigator, Djimbaraye Bourngar, had also recommended life bans for Musavengana and Tchanile for alleged bribery and corruption violations.

    The three officials will now be invited to submit their positions and may request a hearing, the adjudicatory chamber said in a statement.

    Tchanile has already been banned from soccer for three years by his national federation after taking a team masquerading as the Togo national side to play a friendly with Bahrain in 2010.

     

  • FIFA president cleared in ethics probe

    FIFA president cleared in ethics probe

    FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been cleared of wrongdoing following an investigation into his expenses, recruitment and alleged sacking of whistleblowers.

    Infantino took charge of football’s world governing body in February after the disgraced Sepp Blatter resigned, the BBC reports.

    FIFA’s ethics committee found no “conflicts of interest” and no breaches of the organisation’s ethics code.

    “The benefits enjoyed by Mr. Infantino were not considered improper,” it said.

    Infantino said he was pleased with the decision, adding that he “would like to thank all those who co-operated with the ethics committee to ensure that the facts were heard and the truth prevailed.”

     

  • Olympics: FIFA assigns Oliseh to study Nigeria matches

    Olympics: FIFA assigns Oliseh to study Nigeria matches

    Former Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, who is on the FIFA technical study group for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been assigned to analyse Nigeria matches against Japan and Colombia in the Games soccer event.

    Nigeria faces Japan in both countries’ opening game at the Olympics on Friday in Manaus, while the Dream Team VI confronts Colombia in the last group game in Sao Paolo on August 10, africanFootball.com reports.

    Oliseh coached the Super Eagles coach between July 2015 and February this year.

  • Saraki urges NFF factions to resolve crisis

    Saraki urges NFF factions to resolve crisis

    The president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on Monday appealed to warring factions in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to sheathe their swords in the interest of football development in the country.

    Saraki gave the charge when the president of NFF, Amaju Pinnick, led the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, and Secretary General, Fatma Samoura, on a visit to the Senate in Abuja, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    He urged the NFF executive members to seize the international recognition accorded Nigeria by the visit of FIFA leadership to put the crisis plaguing the federation behind them.

    “Apart from the major issue of reform and accountability, the key issue remains the development of our own football, and I think Africa, as you said, is the greatest place such can come from.

    “We are going to play our own role in creating the enabling environment. I am happy that other presidents of football associations from different African countries are here.

    “I think your visit clearly shows that you want to work with us in Africa. We must play our own role and that is why we must give all the support we can.

    “It gives me an opportunity to talk to members of NFF that we must solve our problems.

    “With this kind of world recognition we have today, the only thing we can do is to show example here in Nigeria how we think a football association should be run.

    “A lot of you professionals sometimes blame politicians that when we lose elections we don’t want to accept the outcome. But now, we politicians are now reformed,” he said.

  • FIFA president to visit Nigeria July 24

    FIFA president to visit Nigeria July 24

    … To meet Buhari, Ambode, others

    FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, will begin a two-day working visit to Nigeria on July 24.

    Infantino will be accompanied on the trip to Nigeria by FIFA Secretary General, Fatma Samoura.

    The Swiss – Italian, who was elected FIFA president at an extraordinary general assembly held in Zurich on February 26, confirmed the trip at a meeting with NFF president, Amaju Pinnick, in Paris, France, on Sunday.

    “The FIFA president and Secretary General will arrive in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Sunday, 24th July on a two –day working visit to Nigeria,” africanFootball.com quoted Pinnick as saying on Monday.

    During the visit, the FIFA supremo will meet President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He will also hold meeting with some football federation chiefs from Africa in Abuja.

    Infantino and Samoura will attend an evening session with Corporate Nigeria in Lagos on Sunday and later meet the state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode.

    The visiting FIFA officials will also watch the final of the NFF/ZENITH Bank Future Eagles Championship.

     

  • Valcke’s ban reduced to 10 years

    Valcke’s ban reduced to 10 years

    FIFA said it has reduced the bans imposed on two senior officials, including a former Secretary-General,  barred from participating in football-related activities following a corruption investigation.

    Former secretary-general Jerome Valcke was handed a 12-year ban, while another official, Chung Mong-joon, was given a six-year ban in a corruption scandal at the heart of FIFA.

    The scandal led to indictment of several senior FIFA officials, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    Valcke, who was right-hand man to ex- FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, was found guilty of several misconducts.

    They included misconduct over sale of World Cup tickets, abuse of travel expenses, attempting to sell TV rights below their market value and destruction of evidence.

    He and Chung, a former FIFA vice-president, were excluded from football after they were found guilty of breaching FIFA code of conduct.

    FIFA’s Appeal Committee on Tuesday mainly confirmed the decisions taken by the body’s Ethics Committee but said it had cut Valcke’s ban from 12 to 10 years because of “mitigating factors.”

    It said the ethics committee’s adjudicatory chamber had not sufficiently considered mitigating factors when assessing the Frenchman’s attempt to grant TV and media rights in the Caribbean

  • Olympics: Clubs have no obligation to release players – FIFA

    Olympics: Clubs have no obligation to release players – FIFA

    Football’s world governing body, FIFA on Thursday confirmed that clubs are not under obligation to release their players for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a development that will surely not sit well with Nigeria’s U-23 coach, Samson Siasia.

    Several players on the provisional list have been barred by their European clubs from representing Nigeria at the Games, despite pleas from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

    And FIFA has now confirmed the clubs are not obliged to release their players for the quadrennial Games.

    “The men’s Olympic football tournament is not included in the men’s international match calendar 2014-2018, which applies to all FIFA competitions with age restrictions, and thus clubs are not under any obligation to release players for the men’s Olympic football tournament,” a FIFA spokesperson told africanFootball.com

    “However, FIFA is asking for support from the clubs to allow players who are called up by their national teams to be given the chance to be part of the Olympics experience.”