Tag: FIFA

Contrary to what many might think,    FIFA accredited and one of Nigeria’s finest referees, Festus Okubule has revealed that refereeing is a hobby and not a profession.

Okubule, who spoke to journalists at the Agege Sports Stadium recently, stated that being a referee anywhere in the world is like a hobby.

“When I started out, I did not know I could get anywhere; it was like  child’s play but with God on my side, I got to an enviable position in refereeing. I have said it that refereeing is not a profession but it is a serious hobby in any part of the world,” he said.

The retired referee also spoke about discovering talents from the grassroots, “We have to catch our athletes at their young age but most times we depend on those who did not go through the stages as it is very important for an athlete to go through the stages before getting to the top. Parents should allow their children go into sports from as early as five years of age as that is another way of keeping them fit and building courage in them. That does not stop them from being successful in their academics; while they go to school, they should do sports also,” he said.

He, however, presented sports to the parents as an antidote to unnecessary spending in hospitals on health related matters.

With the latest FIFA rankings seeing Nigeria remain at 43rd in the world, it may be the last month for a while that the Super Eagles remain in the Top 50.

With the Super Eagles not participating in the African Cup of Nations finals, you can expect to see major jumps for other African countries over the next month.

Points at major tournaments like AFCON have a significant higher value than for any friendlies that Nigeria may play in.

There are a number of African teams who are at the finals not far behind Nigeria, including Mali at 49th, Zambia at 50th, South Africa at 52nd, the DRC at 57th, Congo at 61st, Gabon 62nd and Burkina Faso at 64th.

Good performances from any, or all, of these teams at the tournament could see them leapfrog Nigeria.

Sudan, who will clash with the Eagles later this month in Abu Dhabi, UAE, occupy the 108th position.

The finalists at the 2014 World Cup – Germany and Argentina – have maintained their positions in the rankings, with Colombia, Belgium and Holland completing the top five countries in the world.

The next ranking will be published by the official website of Fifa, fifa.com on 12th February, 2015.

Barcelona’s appeal against a transfer ban imposed by FIFA has been rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The Liga club were handed the sanction in April after irregularities were found in their dealings at youth level.

FIFA suspended the punishment pending an initial appeal to the governing body, which was dismissed, with the Catalan club subsequently opting to the take the case to CAS.

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has been among those to join Barca while the embargo has been on hold, making the switch from Liverpool for a fee in the region of €80million.

However, Barca will now be unable to add to their squad until 2016 after CAS determined FIFA’s original decision to ban them from making signings for two transfer windows should stand.

In a statement, Barca expressed “its total disagreement with the resolution” and revealed their intention to explore their legal options, once the reasons for the dismissal of the appeal have been published.

“FC Barcelona wants to state its total disagreement with the decision of CAS reported on Tuesday which confirms the sanctions imposed by FIFA as a result of alleged violation of the rules on international transfers of players under age,” the statement read.

Nigeriais again in danger of another FIFA ban should the country not adopt a common decision on the results of the recent NFF executive committee elections.

FIFA could also be forced to sack the executive committee altogether and appoint a harmonisation committee in their place.

Last week, the electoral appeals committee members upheld all the results of the September 30 elections in Warri, while the committee’s chairman has ordered fresh elections this week for the presidential, first vice-presidential as well as two other seats in the southeast and northwest.

Both decisions are now before FIFA, who are expected to rule on the matter this week. But a top official exclusively told AfricanFootball.com it was in the best interest of the country that the two different rulings are harmonised before the FIFA intervention, which could lead to another court case and subsequent ban by FIFA of the country.

“The matter is very clear – if the decisions of the appeals committee are not harmonised, FIFA will be forced to intervene and this may lead to court cases and subsequent ban of the country,” the official explained.

“FIFA may also appoint a harmonisation committee in place of the executive committee and it is this harmonisation committee that will organise fresh elections.”

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have equally received both decisions from the appeals committee.

“There are just too many interests and everyone is holding tight to his position and if the various differences are not resolved, what may result may not be good for some of these interests,” another source warned.

A FIFA ban would mean the country will not feature in next year’s CAF U17, U20 and U23 qualifying championships, while the country’s clubs namely Kano Pillars, Enyimba, Warri Wolves and Dolphins will also be withdrawn from the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup.

Nigeria has been bedeviled by a lingering leadership crisis since the country crashed out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in July. This has led to a brief FIFA suspension and subsequently several warnings from the world football governing body.