Connect with us

Sports

UEFA, CONCACAF demand FIFA make $2.1 billion payout to member groups amid funding row

Published

on

Two continental football federations, UEFA and CONCACAF, on Friday called on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to release around $2.1 billion from the global governing body’s reserves to share among its 211 member associations.

A letter sent to Infantino by European football chief Aleksander Ceferin and his counterpart at the North and Central American and Caribbean body, Victor Montagliani, said each of FIFA’s member associations (MAs) should receive $10 million in the four years between 2027-2030.

The move is the latest twist in the civil war which erupted in world football after it emerged Infantino sought to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors.

Read moreFrench Football Federation pulls support from FIFA head Infantino’s re-election bid

Advertisement

The incendiary proposal was short-lived after a fierce backlash across the sport, with European governing body UEFA threatening to boycott all FIFA competitions until the plan was shelved.

Infantino has said the venture was designed to raise capital for football across the world.

But Ceferin and Montagliani’s letter, sent on Friday and obtained by AFP, said FIFA’s vast cash reserves – estimated at around $6 billion – could be used to boost funding for the sport without outside investment.

“FIFA already has the capacity to deliver substantially more to its MAs from its own balance sheet – without any sale of interests in its competitions, and without asking anything of the MAs in return,” the letter read.

Advertisement

“Our analysis indicates that FIFA should make at least $10 million available to each of its 211 MAs over the 2027-30 cycle for investment in infrastructure and football development – an aggregate of approximately USD 2.1 billion,” it added.

The letter said the “one-off” release of funds would be in addition to the annual development funding already distributed to FIFA members, which under Infantino has increased to $8 million per country over a four-year cycle.

The UEFA and CONCACAF letter said they would issue recommendations for disbursements at the next FIFA Council meeting.

The letter comes a day after England‘s Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt wrote to Infantino requesting a full disclosure of information relating to the ill-fated private equity plan.

Advertisement

Hewitt has also called for the release of documents relating to the decision to suspend a ban handed to United States striker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup, which followed a phone call from US President Donald Trump to Infantino.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Sports

France’s new head coach Zidane unveils team line-up for Nations League matches

Published

on

Zinedine Zidane unveiled his first national squad Friday after being appointed lead coach of Les Bleus in July.

The French football icon named star forward Kylian Mbappé captain while opting to leave out former squad members midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni and striker Marcus Thuram. Zidane also named five new players, among them goalkeeper Guillaume Restes, defenders Andy Diouf and Jérémy Jacquet, as well as midfielder Lucas Da Cunha and striker Esteban Le Paul.

 

Advertisement

The 54-year-old Zidane, whose brilliance helped France to ​win their ‌first World Cup on home soil in 1998, returns ⁠to the national team tasked with turning recent near-misses into trophies.

Zidane enjoyed a glittering managerial career at ‌former club Real Madrid, leading the Spanish side to three successive ⁠Champions League titles. Similar success will be expected with France, who boast some of football’s most gifted players, as they build up ​to the 2028 European Championship and the 2030 World Cup.

France won the 2018 World Cup, finished runners-up to Argentina in 2022 and reached the semi-finals of this year’s showpiece tournament.

Zidane was appointed as France coach until the 2030 World Cup in July, succeeding Didier ​Deschamps and becoming the third member of France’s 1998 World Cup-winning team ​to lead Les Bleus.

Advertisement

He will take charge for ​the first time in the Nations League group stage against Turkey in Izmit on September 25. France then ​travel to Belgium before hosting Italy and Belgium in October.

The full list of 23 players includes:

Goalkeepers

  • Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
  • Guillaume Restes (Toulouse)
  • Robin Risser (Lens).

Defenders

  • Andy Diouf (Inter Milan)
  • Jérémy Jacquet (Liverpool)
  • Pierre Kalulu (Juventus)
  • Ibrahima Konaté (Real Madrid)
  • Jules Koundé (Barcelona)
  • Maxence Lacroix (Chelsea)
  • Adrien Truffert (Bournemouth)
  • Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich).

Midfielders

  • Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid)
  • Rayan Cherki (Manchester City)
  • Lucas Da Cunha (Como)
  • Manu Koné (AS Roma)
  • Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan)
  • Warren Zaïre-Emery (PSG).

Forwards

  • Bradley Barcola (Liverpool)
  • Ousmane Dembélé (PSG)
  • Désiré Doué (PSG)
  • Estéban Lepaul (Rennes)
  • Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid)
  • Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)

Watch moreNew era for France as Zidane takes charge of national team

 

Advertisement

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

Maria Sharapova moved to tears after Paula Badosa sends heartwarming message about meeting idol for the first time ever at SP Open

Published

on

Maria Sharapova was recently moved to happy tears as Paula Badosa sent her a heartwarming message. After the duo met each other for the first time ever at the SP Open, they posed for a photo together and the Spaniard penned a sweet note for her lifelong idol.

Sharapova and Badosa are two of the biggest names of the WTA. While the Russian was one of the foremost stars of the Tour for two decades between 2001 and 2020, Badosa established herself as a top player in recent years. Over the course of her career, the Spaniard has been vocal about drawing inspiration from Sharapova, and the duo recently met each other in Brazil.

Taking to Instagram to share a snap of their meeting, Paula Badosa wrote,

Advertisement

“Some people inspire you from afar, and then you get lucky enough to meet them. Today was one of those moments. You’re simply amazing @mariasharapova. Little Paula made a dream come true today.”

Reacting to the sweet note, Maria Sharapova reacted with three ‘teary-eyed’ emojis.

Via @paulabadosa on InstagramVia @paulabadosa on Instagram
Via @paulabadosa on Instagram

In Brazil, Badosa is currently competing at the SP Open, a WTA 250 event. The second seed has enjoyed smooth sailing at the tournament so far, ousting the likes of Justina Mikulskyte, Jazmin Ortenzi and Mary Stoiana to reach the semifinal.

When Paula Badosa opened up about Maria Sharapova being her role model

Badosa at the Berlin Tennis Open (Image Source: Getty)Badosa at the Berlin Tennis Open (Image Source: Getty)
Badosa at the Berlin Tennis Open (Image Source: Getty)

Over the years, Paula Badosa has been vocal about looking up to Maria Sharapova as an idol during her childhood, admiring the Russian for her on-court exploits and her off-court personality that went beyond tennis.

In a 2020 interview with Tweener Head Tennis, Badosa hailed Sharapova as her role model, explaining,

“I have to be honest with you, she’s like a role model to me, so I try to copy her. She’s a fighter, so I really like that and as a Spanish player I really like that. Since (I was) young, that’s what they put in your mind – to fight every point – so I think that’s very important. Her game is very aggressive. We don’t play similar (games) but I try to be aggressive in my way as well.”

On the tennis end of things, Paula Badosa will next return to action for her semifinal encounter at the SP Open, where she will take on Nadia Podoroska. Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova was last seen on a tennis court at the US Open, where she presented women’s singles champion Elena Rybakina with her winner’s trophy.