Sports
Fraud Office Probes World Cup Bid
The Serious Fraud Office has been urged to reconsider its decision not to investigate allegations of Fifa corruption during the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process.
Conservative MP Damian Collins made the call after media claims that former Fifa executive, Chuck Blazer recorded conversations with football officials at the London 2012 Olympics.
Russia would host the 2018 World Cup after England’s unsuccessful bid.
The 2022 World Cup would be in Qatar.
The SFO can investigate “cases which undermine UK commercial/financial PLC in general and the City of London in particular” and has been following bribery claims stemming from the December 2010 decision to award rights for the next two World Cups.
Fifa has already undertaken its own investigation into the corruption allegations, led by independent ethics investigator Michael Garcia.
American Blazer was a member of Fifa’s executive committee from 1996 to 2013.
On Sunday, the media alleged US FBI agents recruited Blazer by threatening him with arrest and prosecution for tax fraud if he failed to cooperate.
The media said Blazer was supplied with a modified keyring that contained a tiny microphone in order to secretly record conversations with leading football officials during a visit to the London 2012 Olympic Games.
“If there is evidence that Chuck Blazer held meetings during the Olympics, that would come under the jurisdiction of the SFO,” Collins told Tidesports source.
“I want to see if they would now be prepared to act.”
Fifa declined to comment about Blazer when contacted.
Tidesports source has seen a letter from the SFO to Collins, sent before the allegations about Blazer were published, which said the crime bureau was watching corruption allegations “with interest”.
The letter added that the SFO did not believe it had the right to launch its own inquiry.
SFO director David Green told Collins: “The allegations that have occurred so far are against non-UK nationals and the alleged conduct took place outside of the UK.”
That could now change if reports of Blazer recording officials in London are accurate.
Green’s letter adds: “I can… assure you that the SFO will continue to keep the jurisdictional position under review.”
Collins wrote to the SFO in September asking it to seek access to the report produced by Michael Garcia.
Garcia spent 18 months interviewing individuals from nations wanting to stage the 2018 and 2022 finals – and wants greater transparency from Fifa.
But Fifa president Sepp Blatter said Garcia’s full report will not be published because of legal issues.
The information that will be eventually be revealed is now in the hands of Hans-Joachim Eckert, a German judge tasked by Fifa with deciding if any individuals breached the organisation’s code of ethics.
He is due to make an interim statement later this month, which may include redacted sections of Garcia’s findings.
Collins is concerned that information relating to claims made by former chairman of the FA Lord Triesman concerning alleged corruption could be contained within Garcia’s files but will not be made public.
Lord Triesman made a series of allegations concerning his time involved with England’s 2018 bid in evidence to a House of Lords committee in 2011.
Furthermore, Collins asked the SFO to consider whether evidence of any additional wrongdoing, which might fall under its jurisdiction, could be revealed by obtaining access to Garcia’s report.
In light of the SFO’s response and Chuck Blazer’s alleged role as an FBI informant, Collins believes Fifa must now publish Garcia’s findings and inform the relevant law enforcement agencies.
“If Fifa is sitting on evidence relating to acts of bribery and corruption, then it is more than just a football matter,” Collins said.
“It is unthinkable they wouldn’t reveal what they have.
“There are people who are stopping evidence being made available. You’ll have to draw your own conclusions as to why that is.”
Basket ball players struggling for honour during a sports event in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, recently
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.