Sports
FIFA Sticks To World Cup Dates
FIFA has raised objections to holding the 2022 Qatar World Cup in the summer despite calls by top European clubs and leagues.
FIFA’s medical chief highlighted the health risk of holding matches between May and September, while the governing body’s secretary general Jerome Valke said there would be a clash with the Muslim fasting month.
After a meeting of a task force to decide the dates of the Qatar tournament, FIFA said that a tournament in November-December or January-February was favoured. No firm decision has yet been taken though.
“We are getting closer to narrowing the dates for the FIFA World Cup to two options – January/February 2022 or November/December 2022,” said Valcke.
“But FIFA has also been asked to consider May 2022,” he added.
“We will summarise what we’ve heard today and provide feedback to all parties in order for them to prepare for the next meeting as we progress towards a final decision.”
The European Clubs Association, which groups 214 top clubs including Real Madrid, Manchester United and Bayern Munich, proposed April-May at the meeting.
The Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL) gave a presentation on holding the matches in May-June.
Jiri Dvorak, FIFA’s chief medical officer, set out the “medical concerns related to player safety and fan safety if the FIFA World Cup were to be held between May and September,” a FIFA statement said.
The tournament is traditionally held in June and July and the decision to give the tournament to Qatar has faced intense criticism because of the searing summer temperatures in the Gulf State.
Valcke “highlighted the fact that the month-long period of Ramadan would begin on April 2 in 2022, which would have an impact on a number of players in their preparations for any April/May option and with regard to the preparation of the event itself,” FIFA said.
Qatar organising committee chief Hassan Al Thawadi said that “for the Middle East, the ideal situation and circumstances for an all-inclusive World Cup would be for it to be held in the winter.”
But he added that Qatar “remained fully committed to delivering what was promised in its bid and organising the best possible event whatever is decided.”
Valcke and FIFA executive member Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa will now provide recommendations for the next meeting of the task force in early 2015.
UEFA has argued for a tournament in January/February 2022 to minimize disruption to the Champions League. But that could cause a clash with the Winter Olympics which FIFA leader Sepp Blatter has promised to avoid.
European clubs say that a November-December will force them into a costly shutdown when most Champions League games are being played.
“We now have a greater understanding of where each of the stakeholders is coming from and we will carefully consider these opinions as we move forward towards defining the international match calendar,” said Khalifa.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.