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The alleged
involvement of Amos Adamu, a FIFA Executive Committee member and former
Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC) in cash for
vote scandal, has been described as shocking and disturbing.

Adamu and Reynald
Temarii, President of Oceania Confederation both members of FIFA’s
24-man executive committee, scheduled to vote on December 2 for the
nations hosting the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, were on Wednesday
provisionally suspended by FIFA, the football governing body after
their appearance before the ethics committee of the body. In a
statement signed by Olukayode Thomas, the Special Assistant (Media) to
Ibrahim Bio, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the NSC, the federal
government expressed dismay at the alleged involvement of Adamu in the
saga. In the statement, Thomas noted that while the government awaits
the outcome of the investigation by FIFA into the allegations, it has
again re-emphasized its zero tolerance for corruption at all levels.
“The alleged involvement of Dr Adamu in the cash for vote scandal is
shocking and disturbing and has negative consequences for Nigeria’s
image,” he stated. “The anti-corruption agencies are monitoring the
outcome of the investigation and will act at the appropriate time.”

‘I am innocent’

Meanwhile, Adamu
has stated he was innocent of the allegations against him. In a
statement released yesterday he said: “Allegations were made against me
by a British newspaper on 17th October 2010 which prompted a FIFA
ethics committee meeting yesterday which concluded I should be
provisionally suspended from my FIFA duties. Whilst I wholly refute all
allegations made, I fully support the inquiry since it is important
that these claims are thoroughly investigated. Only by doing this will
FIFA – and the wider football community – be able to trust that its
appointed representatives are beyond reproach. I have yet to present my
position to those investigating this matter; however I am confident
that my actions, the full and true extent of which were not detailed in
the story published, will demonstrate not only my innocence and
integrity, but also my commitment to football and to FIFA. Since
investigations are not yet complete, it would be inappropriate for me
to comment further and I will not do so until FIFA’s final conclusion
is made public.”

Soldiering on

Former Nigeria
international, Emeka Ezeugo, has thrown his weight behind Adamu, the
president of the West African Football Union (WAFU), who was
provisionally suspended along with five others pending the conclusion
of investigations by FIFA after he allegedly demanded for money from a
team of undercover reporters posing as lobbyists for the United States
of America’s World Cup bid. Adamu and the other suspended officials now
have to prepare their defence ahead of the next meeting of FIFA’s
ethics committee which meets in mid-November to take a final decision
on the case ahead of the World Cup vote on December 2. Ezeugo insists
that the former director general of the National Sports Commission
should “soldier on”. “I’m actually surprised about the whole thing,” he
said. “It is quite unfortunate how he got himself into this mess. But
it’s at times like this that you get to know those who care about you.
But irrespective of the suspension hanging on his head at the moment I
don’t think it’s entirely over for him as he hasn’t yet been found
guilty.”

The match between
Hamburg and defending champions, Bayern Munich, will kick off the
European weekend on Friday. It has always been a tight affair between
these two sides in the past four seasons and this one should not be any
different.

The margin of
victory for either has been the odd goal; and on the basis of goals
scored in the current season, it is debatable that there will be
anything different. With 13 and seven goals scored between both sides
in eight matches, Bayern will have to continue to plod on without their
most effective players of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben. Hamburg
stopped the terrific march of Mainz last weekend and moved to fifth in
the standings; and in Ruud Van Nistelrooy, they have a rejuvenated
marksman who is still on top of his game. He will be supported by
Mladen Petric and Eljero Elia. Martin Demechelis, Bayern defender seems
set for the exit door, and Holger Badstuber will continue to pair
Daniel Van Buyten.

Spurs need a come-back victory

Harry Redknapp
needs to lift his side after their 4-3 loss to Inter Milan, and he will
be happy with the return of Rafael Van Der Vaart to the side. Ledley
King is still out and there are fears on when he will make his return.
Gareth Bale gave a master class performance and hit three neat goals
which were not enough for a draw in Italy and a return to familiar
surroundings may help Tottenham get over the first 35 minutes in Italy,
where they fell to four goals. Jermain Defoe is still weeks from a
return to the first team.

Everton on a high

Everton have been
buoyed by the Merseyside win and will be highly wound up for this trip
to West London. Against Liverpool, the midfield led by Mikel Arteta
pressurised Liverpool midfielders high up the pitch and that allowed
the Everton defence to push up and squeeze the space where Fernando
Torres and Steven Gerrard could run into. Yakubu Aiyegbeni had an
excellent outing in attack and seems to be back to his bullying best.
Louis Saha is near to a return from injury that has kept him out since
the beginning of September with Steven Pienaar still out. Marouane
Fellaini, Jack Rodwell and Victor Anichebe all remain on the long-term
injured list.

Wolves set on mission impossible

After a second
match in 42, in which the Blues did not score, it is back to Stamford
Bridge where they have scored 14 goals in four matches. Wolves will be
hard pressed to get a win at the Bridge but have scored on all their
away trips except one – last weekend’s 2-0 loss to Wigan. The major
highlight will be if one goal will be enough to get a win or a point.
Stephen Hunt looks like getting a debut on the left with Matthew Jarvis
shifted to the right and these two will cause the Chelsea defence some
problems with their pace and trickery. Jose Bosingwa could start in
place of Paulo Ferreira and Didier Drogba should make a return to the
front line to help his team get goals as they have scored just two
goals in their last three Premiership matches.

After scoring one
of the two goals in the first leg encounter between Nigeria’s Flying
Eagles and the Mauritius U-20 team, Stanley Okoro, popularly known as
“little Messi”, has promised to score more goals when both teams clash
this weekend in the second leg encounter at the Abuja National Stadium.

“I am confident I
am going to score against them again, we are ready for them and we have
actually been training hard for this match,” the Almeria of Spain
player said.

The Flying Eagles
currently have a 2-0 advantage going into the match and would need to
avoid conceding three un-replied goals to guarantee a spot at the Libya
2011 Africa Youth Championships.

In the team’s last
tune up match against Premier League side, Niger Tornadoes played on
Tuesday, the John Obuh led side defeated the Minna based team by 1-0 to
maintain their 100% record in the friendly matches.

Already the
Mauritius U-20, which breezed into the country Wednesday night, are
beaming with confidence with the promise to still give the Flying
Eagles some fight for the available ticket though admitting it would be
a mountain to climb in Abuja this weekend.

Not yet uhuru

Despite having the
advantage, the Flying Eagles coach, John Obuh, is not resting on his
oars as he posited that a match is not won before it is played.

He said even though they won the first leg by two clear goals, the game was not as easy as it seemed.

“We suffered a lot
in the first leg and only our superior individual quality carried us to
safety. The Mauritians worked very hard and displayed a surprisingly
hard appreciation of the game. Besides they will be playing under no
pressure at all because no one expects them to get anything out of this
game so if we underrate them, we are going to be punished,” he said.

“If we were able to beat them at their home they can do the same here, so that is why we are not taking anything to chance.”

Nigeria finished third at the last edition of the AYC held in Rwanda
and will be hoping to better the feat if a spot it secured at next
year’s edition

The Governor of Edo
State, Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday, commissioned the FIFA-standard
2-Star turf of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, in Benin City.

Present at the
commissioning were former members of Nigeria’s senior national football
team, the Super Eagles, including Daniel Amokachi and Austin Okocha.
Oshiomhole had noted at the inception of his administration the pitch
and other facilities at the stadium were dilapidated and given their
condition could not attract international matches. “Stakeholders,
football administrators and players were unanimous that we needed to
have a completely new pitch,” he said. “This new pitch is not only
beautiful; it is user-friendly and minimizes the potentials of injuries
to footballers.” The governor restated the commitment of his
administration to the revival of sports and football in the state. “Our
performance in sports has long been a heritage of Edo State, we have
produced sporting administrators and legends,” he said. He appealed to
the private sector to assist the state government in its quest to
restore the lost sports glory of the state.

Showering praise

Speaking on behalf
of the players, Amokachi said: “We know who you are and what you are
doing in Edo State. When I landed at the airport this morning, I saw
the massive road development you are working on. This turf is another
testimony of what you are doing. I pray God to grant you the strength
to conclude the good works you are doing.” Okocha also described
Oshiomhole as “an active governor with a vision and a mission.”

Earlier, the Edo State Commissioner for Sports, Anita Evbuomwan,
said the construction of the pitch is one of the most important
developments in the state, stressing the determination of the
Oshiomhole’s administration to develop sporting infrastructure for the
use of professional and amateur sportsmen and women. The high point of
the ceremony were two novelty matches. The first was between the
executive arm of government, captained by Oshiomhole versus the State
House of Assembly, captained by Bright Omokhodion; while the second
involved former Eagles and Bendel Insurance FC.

Officials of The
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Enugu have taken over the
investigation of corruption charges levelled against the Nigeria
Premier League chairman, Davidson Owumi.

Mr. Owumi, who was
flown into Enugu Thursday, after initially been questioned in Abuja by
officials of the anti-graft body, is accused of misappropriating funds
while he was the chief executive officer of Enugu Rangers International
Football Club between 2002 and 2006. He was succeeded by Ray Nnaji, who
is believed to have sent the petition currently been acted on by the
EFCC.

Speaking to
NEXTSports on the latest development, Femi Babafemi, spokesman for
EFCC, revealed that the League boss is still in their custody and might
remain there, depending on the findings of the officials.

“Our men are
currently questioning him on the petitions we received that he used
fictitious companies to award contracts and also corruptly enriched
himself while in office. For now, he is still in our custody. But I
cannot say if he would have to remain with us,” he said.

Owumi defence

Though attempts at
getting across to Mr. Owumi proved abortive yesterday, the NPL boss was
on to a sports programme on City FM 105.1 Lagos, where he dismissed the
petitions against him. According to him, his record speaks well of him.

“The record is
there for all to see. We achieved what we achieved that time with the
leanest of allocations from the state government. The record after I
resigned is also there for all to see. Even with better funding, Ray
could not achieve anything as my successor,” Mr. Owumi told Sports
Flight.

The former Enugu Rangers chief executive officer said his invitation by the anti-graft agency was a routine invitation.

“Normally, if a mad
man on the streets writes a petition against someone, the EFCC must
respond and invite the person to come and give your own side of the
story,” he said.

Meanwhile, the
Nigeria Premier League season, originally meant to begin this weekend,
has been put off again. The shift, according to NPL officials, was
based on the dissolution of the all committees of the Nigeria Football
Federation (NFF), and not the arrest of its boss. The dissolution thus
affects the referees’ appointment committee, which is responsible for
the placement of match officials for Premier League games.

Incidentally, plans to pay the debt of N3.8 million to affected
referees of the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) on Thursday by the
Nigeria Premier League (NPL) failed to take place due to the absence of
the referees’ body leadership.

At centre court of
the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, venue of the 10th edition of the Governor’s
Cup, Karan Rastogi of India brought down Laurent Rochette in straight
sets of 6-2, 6-2 to move to the semi-finals.

Right from the
beginning of the game, fans could see that the more composed Rastogi
had the upper hand with Rochette allowing the pressure to get to lose
his serves. The second set was a relatively easy win with Rastogi
getting opportunity to throw the first salvo. A lot of drop shots from
Rochette also gave him an upper hand and he finished the game in a
relatively short time. Speaking on his victory, Rastogi said he was
happy to have won. “It may have looked relatively easy but I tell you,
he was strong. He is even a better seeded player than I am but see the
way it ended. I tried my best and I made use of all the opportunities
that came my way.” On who he thinks is the best; Rastogi said:
“Everyone is evenly matched. All the players I have had opportunity to
face have all been challenging but I think a little bit of luck and God
helps.”

Sad outing for Nigerians

For a tournament
that is taking place in Nigeria, the Nigerians have all had a poor
showing with the last of them crashing out on Wednesday. Fatima Abinu,
top Nigerian player fell to Slovakia’s Zuzana Kucuva, the number one
seed in the women singles. In the men’s category, Abdulmumini Babalola,
also lost out to South Africa’s Raven Klaasen, 7-5, 6-2. Boy Westerhof
of Holland sent Clifford Enosoregbe out in a match that ended 6-3, 6-0.
Also Samuel Omoile could not survive the heat from the tournament
number one male player, Desein Niels from Belgium. He was beaten 6-3,
6-2. In another encounter, Isreali, Amir Weintraub, stopped Candy Idoko
in their match, which ended 6-2, 6-0; while his compatriot, Blessing
Samuel, was defeated by Melanie Klaffner of Austria 6-1, 6-0.

Westerhof crashes out, Kucuva moves on Boy Westerhof’s dream of
winning the first leg of the 10th Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis
Championship ended yesterday as he was betean 6-4, 2-6,4-6 by Weintraub
in one of the quarter final matches. In another match, Desein justified
his rating in the Etisalat/FCMB sponsored championship as he out
stroked Indian Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan in straight set of 7-6(6),6-4
to move to the semi final scheduled for Friday. South African Raven
Klassen beat Melaine Klaffner of Isreal 6-1, 7-5. In the women’s event,
Slovak lady, Zuzana Kucova showed her prowess to repeat the feat she
recorded at the Governor’s Cup last year, as she secured a place in the
semi-final by defeating Germany’s Karolina Nowak in straight set of
6-4,6-3.

Football’s world governing body, FIFA, has provisionally suspended Executive Committee members Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Tahiti’s Reynald Temarii as it investigates allegations of World Cup vote-selling by the duo.

FIFA announced this yesterday at a press conference following a meeting of its ethics committee, chaired by former Switzerland striker Claudio Sulser.
Four other FIFA officials were also provisionally suspended from taking part in any football-related activity. They are Slim Aloulou, Amadou Diakite, Ahongalu Fusimalohi and Ismael Bhamjee.
Besides Sulser, other FIFA officials present at the press conference to announce the suspensions were Jerome Valcke, the world body’s secretary general and Nicolas Maingot, its director of communications. The conference had started two hours later than advertised, without explanation for the delay.
“The decision to provisionally suspend these officials is fully justified and should not be put in question,” said Sulser.
“The evidence that has been presented to us today has led us to take this provisional measure, as we considered that the conditions were definitely met to take this decision and we deem that it is crucial to protect the integrity of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bidding process.
“We are determined to have zero tolerance for any breach of the code of ethics.”
Sulser added that two national football bodies, albeit unnamed, were also being investigated in connection with the scandal.
Addressing the media after the suspension, FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, said it was a sad day for football especially after having recorded success in what people thought could not be possible with the World Cup in Africa. But he dismissed claims that FIFA is corrupt by saying the immediate reaction of the body to the scandal showed its seriousness on zero tolerance for corruption.
He urged the media to trust FIFA and promised he would continue to do everything to protect the reputation of the game as the president. Blatter also played down the magnitude of the scandal by saying just as we have good players, there also bad players.
The suspended officials now have between now and the middle of November, when the ethics committee will meet again to take a final decision ahead of the World Cup vote on December 2, to prepare their defence.
Investigations to continue
In the meantime, FIFA will investigate the circumstances leading to the suspensions, and presumably, related matters surrounding alleged voting arrangements between bidding nations and parties seeking to influence the bidding process.
Valcke said the vote to decide the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will still go ahead as planned on December 2, but added that if Adamu and Temarii are eventually found guilty then both of them will not be part of the voting process.
Five countries are vying for the right to stage the 2022 World Cup, namely Australia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea and the United States, while there are four bid groups for the 2018 World Cup.
They are England, Russia, as well as joint bids by the Netherlands and Belgium, along with another joint bid by the Iberian pair of Portugal and Spain.
EFCC trouble for Adamu
Reprieve may however be a long way off for Adamu as Nigeria’s Anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is at the moment probing the one-time Director General of the National Sports Commission.
Reporters from British newspaper, the Sunday Times, posing as lobbyists for a consortium of American companies that wanted to help bring the World Cup back to the United States, filmed Adamu asking for money to fund the construction of four artificial football pitches in Nigeria.
No money exchanged hands but Adamu requested for the sum of £500,000, and in the opinion of the EFCC, that is enough reason to commence investigations on the embattled FIFA official.
“We have already commenced our own investigations mostly as a result of the fact that he was filmed demanding for money to construct football pitches in the country,” EFCC spokesman Femi Babafemi said.
However, Babafemi declined to confirm whether the agency will arrest Adamu upon his return to the country.
“That will depend on the outcome of our own investigation and that of FIFA,” he said.

All is set for the maiden edition of the Nigerian Executive Golf Invitational Tournament (NEGIT).

The event is scheduled to take place at the Ibom Golf Course at Le Meridien Hotel and Golf Resort in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

According to the organisers, the tournament will feature over 120 Chief Executive officers from top corporations in Nigeria, and is expected to tee off on Friday October 22 and end on Sunday, October 24, 2010.

Ben Oranusi, the NEGIT President, who disclosed this, said the tournament has been designed as a world-class golf competition to showcase the immense potentials of the Ibom Golf course.

Oranusi added that the tournament will also provide a perfect opportunity for leading businessmen and public officials with strong passion for the game to network, and have fun in the spirit for which golf is globally known for.

“With the golf facility at the Le Meridian Hotel & Golf Resort in Uyo and tremendous positive response that we have received so far, we are confident that NEGIT will tee off in style and then go ahead to grow into a golf tournament of repute all over the world,” Oranusi said.

Thrice in a year

The tournament has been conceived to hold three times a year and top public official have also indicated interest to attend.

Oranusi said President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to declare the event open.

The tournament is also expected to have in attendance, Godswill Akpabio, Governor of Akwa Ibom State; the Senate President, David Mark; the Governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Okwesileze Nwodo, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party; and Olusola Lawson, President, Professional Golfers Association of Nigeria.

According to Charles O’Tudor, Principal Consultant, ADSTRAT BMC, Brand consultants to NEGIT, the Ibom Golf Course is one of the most serene golfing environments in the West African sub-region.

“This will be an opportunity for NEGIT to give back to golfers while also providing them the opportunity to compete with their contemporaries who share the same passion for the game in an atmosphere of intense business networking” he said.

With top notch corporate players, governors, top government officials, and politicians scheduled to participate, NEGIT 2010 promises to compete with the best internationally.

Liverpool will get their regular break from the domestic troubles when they visit Napoli in the Europa League Thursday while holders Atletico Madrid look for a first group stage win when they host Rosenborg.

Liverpool, who are in the Premier League relegation zone and have been stuck in the middle of an ownership battle, have found some relief in the Europa League where they have won five and drawn one of their six games, including qualifying ties.

They top Group K with four points, although Thursday’s match will be by far their toughest test so far with Napoli fourth in Serie A and Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani in prolific form.

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson, who led Fulham to the final last season, has seemed far more comfortable in Europe and is hoping Thursday’s game can provide the springboard for out-of-sorts Spain striker Fernando Torres.

“He was vilified by all and sundry both in this country and Spain during the World Cup,” said Hodgson.

“I think mentally he’s a little bit low about that, I understand that, and the only thing that can pick him up is playing well and scoring some goals.”

“I thought he played well (in a 2-0 defeat) against Everton Sunday and was a constant thorn in their defence. Even at the end when he did set up a goal chance for himself, Tim Howard made a great save.

“If that had gone in, who knows, maybe that would have been the catalyst for him to start believing in himself again.”

Napoli hit back from three goals down to draw 3-3 at Steaua Bucharest in their last outing.

Other fixtures

Atletico have taken only one point from their first two games in Group B and are bottom while Rosenborg, unbeaten in their last 28 Norwegian league matches, have three. Bayer Leverkusen top the group with four points and face a trip to Aris Salonika who have three points.

Atletico expect to have Argentina forward Sergio Aguero back from injury.

Poland’s Lech Poznan, surprise leaders of Group A, hope to continue their impressive run when they visit Manchester City while former European champions Juventus visit Salzburg in the same group.

Several teams have undergone coaching changes recently.

VfB Stuttgart, top of Group H with maximum points but bottom of the Bundesliga, parted with Christian Gross last week and will be playing their second match under Jens Keller when they host Getafe.

Dynamo Kiev visit AZ Alkmaar in Group E looking to bounce back from the shock 2-0 defeat to Moldova’s Sheriff Tiraspol which prompted Valeri Gazzaev to resign at the end of last month. He has been replaced by Oleg Luzhny.

PAOK Salonika coach Pavlos Dermitzakis quit Saturday after only three months in charge and his former assistant Mikos Havos will be in charge for the visit to Villarreal in Group D.

Nigerian defender Danny Shittu looks set to revive his dwindling football fortune after he agreed to pitch tents with English Championship outfit, Millwall.

Shittu has been a free agent ever since he agreed to leave Premier League side Bolton Wanderers at the end of August.

The 30 year-old was linked with a host of club sides in Europe, most notably clubs from the Scottish Premier League, as well as the Middle East, but has now accepted an offer to join Millwall.

The deal is expected to initially last for three months and Shittu is expected to put pen to paper on Friday at The Den – home ground of the London based club side fondly referred to as the Lions by their fans.

Shittu is also looking forward to playing for the club where he will be reunited with Millwall manager Kenny Jackett, who had previously managed Shittu during his time at Queens Park Rangers.

“This move ticks all the right boxes for me,” Shittu told the club’s official website.

“I’m excited to be coming here and I hope to help Millwall push up the table.

“I know a bit about the club from friends who are supporters and everything I’ve heard has been positive.” Tough task ahead

Shittu will be coming into a Millwall side that is currently occupying the 12th position on the 24-team Championship table after 12 rounds of matches that has seen them winning just four games.

Three teams will be promoted from the Championship to the Premier League at the end of the season but only the top two finishers are guaranteed automatic promotion to the top flight.

The Lions last featured in the English top flight division in the 1989/1990 season and have since then languished in various tiers of the English league.

They however reached the 2004 FA Cup final only to lose to Manchester United. But as United had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League that season, Millwall qualified to play in the UEFA Cup the following season and played in Europe for the first time in their history.

They’ve also reached the FA Cup semi-finals on three separate occasions, in 1900, 1903 and 1937.

A list of notable players who have played for Millwall includes Nigerian-born former England international John Fashanu, Australians Lucas Neill and Tim Cahill, Irishman Tony Cascarino, current Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce, as well as former England international Teddy Sheringham, who was last year inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.