CAF Will Support (Gianni) Infantino For Another Term, The CAF President Told Delegates,

The 12th CAF Extraordinary General Assembly on Sunday, 30 September 2018, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, was highlighted by key decisions with the climax being CAF’s endorsement of a second term for FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The tenure of the FIFA President ends next June, but CAF President Ahmad Ahmad in his welcome address appealed to delegates to throw their weight behind the former for another term at the helm of world’s soccer governing body.

“I profoundly announce that CAF will support (Gianni) Infantino for another term”, the CAF President told the delegates, and called on the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) Fouzi Lekjaa, who doubles as CAF 3rd Vice President to formalize the support.

“On behalf of my colleagues, I gladly announce that the delegates (present here) are in support of second mandate for FIFA President Gianni Infantino. You (Infantino) have shown great commitment to the activities and development of African football, and we would like to give you more time to further your reforms,” Lekjaa declared to a resounding applause from fellow delegates.

CAF President Ahmad reiterated his quest to see African football develop into a model build on the tenets of democracy and transparency

“CAF needs a new dimension to regain the values of Africa,” he said whilst regretting the performance of African teams at the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, where none of the five teams (Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia) made it past the group stage, the worst performance the continent’s representatives in more than decades.

He also called for support to Lydia Nsekera, FIFA Council member, who has declared her intentions to contest for the presidency of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA).

Filled with emotion, FIFA President Infantino said “the support for another term means a lot to me”, whilst pledging more support for the African confederation.

“Africa is the future. FIFA is committed to developing Africa's passion for football via the FIFA Forward so the game can reach its potential in each African nation & everyone who wants to take part can do so without barriers.

"I'm happy and proud that CAF embraced VAR. It shows that CAF is in line with modern trends of football. VAR did not change football; rather VAR has helped football and referees,” Infantino said.

Another important item on the agenda of Extraordinary General Assembly was the election of African representative to the FIFA Council for the Anglophone Linguistic Group to replace Kwesi Nyantakyi (Ghana) who resigned last June. Malawian Walter Nyamilandu got the nod after two rounds of voting. The Malawian polled 35 votes against 18 by Danny Jordaan of South Africa. Tanzania’s Leodegar Tenga dropped out after first round of voting with 14 votes, against 23 for Nyamilandu and 16 for Jordaan. Two other candidates Elvis Chetty (Seychelles) and Nick Mwendwa (Kenya) withdrew before voting.

Also present was the Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports, Ashraf Sobhy, who reiterated the support of the host Government towards the activities of CAF.

Other highlights
-Of the 54 Member Associations, only Sierra Leone was absent
-Approval of the appointment of Ernst & Young , Egypt as auditors
-Contract with Lagerdere Sports to be re-negotiated before the end of the year, with CAF seeking to increase its income to support its developmental agenda.
-The marketing and television rights for FIFA World Cup Qatar2022 qualifiers won’t be centralized.

Nigeria Alex Iwobi Came Off The Bench to Inspire His Arsenal Team to Win

The Nigeria international has struggled for the past 18 months after breaking through into the first-team in fine style under Arsene Wenger.

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But the 22-year-old seems to be the player who has benefited most from the arrival of Emery, with his performances notably improving since the start of the campaign.

And Iwobi - who came off the bench on Saturday to inspire Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Watford - admits that he is now feeling more confident than ever in north London.

“I’m more positive and more confident with the ball,” he said. “The boss has basically told me that if something doesn’t work, just keep going and don’t dwell on it.

“He’s told me to stop being so critical and to just keep trying no matter what happens, no matter if things don’t go as I want them to.

“That’s given me a lot more confidence to try a few more things, like beat a player, to shoot more. I’m always ready to get on the ball a bit more, so I guess it’s helped in that sense.

“I’ve lost a bit of weight because of the intense training and I think it’s made me a bit sharper.”

Iwobi scored on his first appearance for Arsenal this season, during the 3-2 defeat at Chelsea in August - but he has yet to find the net since.

Last season he scored just three times and - despite his improved performances - he knows he has to start scoring more if he wants to make himself a regular starter in Unai Emery’s side.

“Obviously the main thing is that the team do well,” he said. “But if I can a few more goals that would be a bonus too. I’m working every day in training.

“The main thing that the boss stresses with me is to get in the positions to score. I scored against Brentford but I was offside. I had another chance too, and I just need to convert them.

“He’s happy with me getting into those positions and the next step is to convert the chances.”

Speaking after Saturday’s win, Emery was quick to praise the impact Iwobi had made having replaced Aaron Ramsey in the second half.

But the Spaniard also pointed out that he believes the attacker needs to start contributing more when it comes to scoring goals.

"He [Iwobi] is working well every day," said Emery.

"I am very happy with him because of his mentality. He can play right or left, maybe he can do more one on one. Also, I want him to stay nearer the box to score and find assists for his teammates. This is the way for him."

Nigeria: Coach faints after being punched by opposing player.

The match was between Shooting Stars and Akwa Starlet in Nigeria's lover division.

Drama unfolded in a lower division league after both teams drew a blank after 90 minutes of football.

The match was between Shooting Stars and Akwa Starlet in Nigeria's lover division.

After full time, the coach of Shooting Stars Agoye Edith Olumide was allegedly hit on the head by an Akwa Starlets goalkeeper Franklin Akwari, after a disappointing 0-0 result in Uyo.

The assault, reports say, left the coach unconscious for some minutes before he was revived by a team of paramedics.

The match referees were also reportedly beaten after the match by some of the players, officials and angry fans.

DECISIONS OF CAF EXECUTIVE COMMITEE - 27 & 28 SEPTEMBER 2018: CAF REPORT

At its meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt on 27- 28 September 2018, the CAF Executive Committee, chaired by CAF President Ahmad Ahmad, took the following decisions;


I. Regarding the Total Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2019, the delegation for the last inspection visit reported on the progress of works. A visual report revealed a significant delay as far as the delivery of infrastructures is concerned.
a. The final decision will be taken in late November after the last inspection visit which will involve audit firm Roland Berger.
b. Beforehand, a joint CAF and FIFA Committee will travel to Cameroon in October to study security issues.
c. The Total Africa Cup of Nations with its new-24 team format will be held from 15 June to 13 July 2019.

II. The schedule of other upcoming CAF competitions has been validated as follows
a. Total Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2021
A report of the inspection visit last July showed the progress of works. Of the six stadiums required for the competition, four are to be built and two are undergoing major renovations. For accommodation, three out of five cities do not have the required infrastructure.

b. Total African Nations Championship, Ethiopia 2020
i. Following the initial inspection in April 2018, the CAF delegation recommended stadiums inspection mission at the end of October 2018 to ensure that the prerequisites are met.
ii. The dates of the final tournament will be discussed with the Ethiopian authorities due of meetings of the African Union scheduled at the same time.

c. Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt 2019
Final tournament date: 8 - 22 November 2019

d. Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, Niger 2019
The President of Niger has confirmed his commitment towards the preparations for the competition, during a meeting with CAF President Ahmad Ahmad last September.
i. Final tournament date : 2 - 17 February 2019
ii. Qualified teams : Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Niger

e. Total U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, Tanzania 2019
On behalf of the Tanzanian Government, the Prime Minister reaffirmed to CAF President Ahmad Ahmad their willingness to host the tournament and pledged efforts towards a successful event.
i. Final tournament date : 14 - 28 April 2019
ii. Qualified teams: Angola, Cameroon, Guinea, Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda, Senegal and Tanzania
iii. Final Draw: 20 December 2018 in Tanzania
iv. During the zonal qualifiers, UEFA was involved financially and technically. UEFA technicians were present at all the competitions and worked hand-in-hand with their CAF counterparts. The aim of zonal qualifications is long-term development.
v. The MRI tests conducted during the zonal tournaments gave the tournament more credibility.

f. Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana 2018
i. Final tournament: 17 November – 1 December 2018
ii. Qualified teams : Algeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Ghana
iii. The CAF Secretariat will closely monitor the progress of preparations.

g. Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt 2018
i. Final tournament : 8 - 14 December 2018
ii. Qualified teams: Cote d’Ivoire, Libya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Egypt

h. Youth Olympic Games, Buenos Aires 2018
Futsal was chosen by FIFA as the football discipline for the Youth Olympic Games to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
i. Final tournament: 7 - 18 October 2018
ii. Qualified teams: Egypt for the men’s tournament and Cameroon for women.

III. Proposal to improve the stadia hosting CAF competitions
A project to assist the federations in upgrading the stadiums has been adopted. The committee will present a detailed proposal at the next meeting of the Executive Committee.

IV. Centralization of rights for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers
The rights for qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will not be centralized by CAF. Each federation will be free to look for its own sponsors. CAF will be able to support the member associations in their research.

V. Validation of the zonal statutes
Five out of the six CAF zones have adopted the statutes proposed by CAF at their last Extraordinary General Assemblies. Only COSAFA did not approve the statutes.

A final version of the statutes, taking into account the amendments proposed by the zones, will be presented to the Executive Committee at the next meeting by the committee in charge of drafting the statutes.
The zonal statutes concretize the CAF's desire for decentralization, especially for development.

VI. Chronogram of development activities
The Executive Committee approved the program of development activities for 2018-2019: the revival of the CAF Coaching license, Refereeing, Medical, Clubs Licensing and the General Secretaries Academy.

VII. Preparation for the CAF Awards 2018 ceremony
a. Date : 8 january 2019
b. Venue : Abdou Diouf International Conference Centre in Dakar, Senegal
c. A first meeting was held on 18 September 2018 between CAF and the Senegalese Minister of Sports. Other preparatory meetings will be held monthly in Dakar.

VIII. CAF Trophies
Following the recognition of the diversity of trophies for the same award, a new trophy for the African Player of the Year has been adopted. The Women’s Player of the Year will also receive a new trophy.

Meanwhile, all previous winners will receive the new trophy at the next CAF Awards ceremony.

IX. Proposal for the appointment of the new auditing body
After a call for tenders for the appointment of a new auditor, ‘Ernst & Young’ was selected.

The proposal will be submitted to the Extraordinary General Assembly on 30 September 2018 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

X. Designation of host countries for upcoming competitions
a. Total Women’s AFCON 2020 : Congo
b. Futsal AFCON 2020 : Morocco
c. Total U-20 AFCON 2021 : Mauritania
d. Total U-17 AFCON 2021 : Morocco
e. Total CHAN 2022 : Algeria

As a follow-up of the executions of the decisions and the resulting issues, it was noted that the decision of CAF to pay the indemnities of match officials has improved the match environment - notably on the referees issues in the context of the fight against corruption.

SHARM EL SHEIKH SET FOR 12TH EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY - CAF REPORT

The Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheikh is all set for the 12th CAF Extraordinary General Assembly due for Sunday, 30 September 2018.

Delegates have started flocking the ‘City of Peace’ for the gathering which will discuss relevant issues related to the development of the game on the continent. The assemblage of the crème de la crème of African football has been the talk of town in the resort city, more than 500 kilometres from the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA General Secretary Fatma Samoura are expected to join delegates from the 54 National Associations affiliated to CAF and other stakeholders for the assembly, which is the legislative body of the continent’s soccer governing body.

Key on the agenda is the election of African representative to the FIFA Council for the Anglophone Linguistic Group, to replace Kwesi Nyantakyi (Ghana) who resigned from his position last June.

Also to be discussed is the centralization of rights for the qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and Updates on the Lagardere Sports contract.