Sports
‘Barca In Danger Of Bankruptcy, Decay’
Fc Barcelona is in danger of economic bankruptcy and moral decay, according to presidential candidate Victor Font.
In an open letter to Barca members and the media, Font – the leader of the Si al futur group seeking to take control of the Camp Nou boardroom – offered a scathing assessment of the current behind-the-scenes turmoil at the LaLiga champions.
The unvarnished criticism arrives at the end of a turbulent week, with six of Josep Maria Bartomeu’s board resigning from their posts.
Outgoing Vice-President Emili Rousaud then made the explosive claim that “someone had the hand in the till” at the club – an accusation strongly rebuffed by Barcelona.
Rousaud also suggested possible impropriety regarding Barca’s alleged agreement with 13 Ventures, a PR company claimed by a report on a Spanish radio programme in Feburary to have been hired to clean up Bartomeu’s image on social media and disparage current and former players critical of his regime.
Both Barcelona and 13 Ventures denied the allegations but that episode, along with the controversial signing of Neymar in 2013, were both referenced by Font in his critique.
The letter read: “For some time now the project Si al futur has been warning Barca members that the club was heading towards the ‘perfect storm’ – it had to replace the best generation of footballers in history, build and finance the Espai Barca development project and compete against corporations with almost unlimited financial resources.
“And all this had to be done while preserving the ownership of the club in the hands of the members and its competitive capacity both in football and in all sections.
“If the risks were great, they have now become gigantic. We are in the midst of a pandemic that has brought the planet to a halt and will have effects in all walks of life, also in sport, that today we cannot yet foresee.
“Likewise, for months we have witnessed a shameful escalation of chapters in the club’s institutional behaviour in which the latest event hides the seriousness of the previous one, a process that culminated in recent days with accusations and serious reproaches among board members, and six abrupt resignations.
“And just as the only priority should be to get the club out of the crisis, the presidency announces a new remodelling of the board of directors in order to stay in power. What is at risk now is Barca as a whole.
“This is not a recent problem – we have experienced the sentencing of the club in the Neymar case, the disagreements made public between employees and players with executives and managers, and the audit of the case on social networks, which seems will confirm the scandal.
“Let’s add an erratic sports policy, the breaking up of the board of directors and the significant reduction in income due to the pandemic, and the result is the danger of economic bankruptcy and moral decay in which the club has settled. Game over.”
Font reiterated his assertion from earlier this month that Si al futur had put themselves at Bartomeu’s disposal to assist during the COVID-19 crisis and build a “common front”, only to be frustrated in those efforts.
Before laying out his group’s vision, Font made three demands of the Barca board – transparency over the club’s level of debt; delays to making non-essential structural decisions at this time, including Espai Barca; and “maximum prudence and transparency” on player purchases and sales.
Bartomeu is not obliged to call elections until 2021, when he will not be able to stand, although there is a growing demand for him to bring the date forward.
The Barca president’s standing has been weakened over recent months over apparent clashes with Lionel Messi over the star player’s future at the club and the handling of pay cuts given to the squad in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Chairman of Grassroots Initiative, Engr. Promise Alabere has reiterated that the New W.W. Whyte Secondary Football Tournament was to discover hidden players from the grassroots and groom them to stardom.
He stated that the his organisation is partnering with the Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC) for the football tournament, adding that in the first edition 32 players were discovered and NDDC, and his organisation are to fixing them into various clubs.
Engr. Alabere said this while briefing sports journalists last Tuesday, in Port Harcourt, and expressed optimism that the second edition which have 22 secondary schools participating would be exciting and impressive.
” The essence of this tournament is to catch them young because in the 1980s and 1990s most of the players that played for NNPC, Sharks and other big clubs in the country were discovered through this competition.
” Even me I was a product of the W.W. Whyte tournament, as I started playing for the Nigerian Police football club when I was in class four. But this competition stopped about 20 years when two schools resort to bloody clash during one of their games.
According to him the second edition expanded to schools in six Local Government Areas, saying that it will be better than the previous in terms of organisation and others.
“We want to make this edition more exciting and beneficial to all participating schools because the first edition was on experiment but this edition is no longer an experiment” he stated.
The Chairman of Grassroots Initiative,used the forum to advice all participating schools to conduct themselves in a good manner and adhere to rules of the competition.
He equally thanked NDDC for being its major sponsor of the tournament.
Tonye Orabere
Rivers Hoopers captain Victor Anthony Koko has said that his team is mentally ready for the challenge of retaining their Nigeria Premier Basketball League title when the 2025 season Final Four phase holds from November 21 – 23 in Port Harcourt, Tidesports source reports.
The Kings Men, who won back-to-back NPBL titles in 2023 and 2024 unbeaten, are chasing their seventh title.
They will be up against Lagos Legends, Gboko City Chiefs, and Nigeria Customs, as they hope to retain the title they won last year and also pick the ticket to next year’s Basketball Africa League.
Following the conclusion of the Final Eight earlier this month, the KingsMen have had time to fine-tune preparations ahead of their title defence at the Final Four, with the skipper stating that he and his teammates are fully prepared to retain the championship.
“This time around, everyone is ready; everyone is mentally ready. We understand what is at stake, so we need to go all out. And right now, with the level of energy I’ve seen from my team during practice, I don’t think we’re going to be a team that just wants to have fun [on the court]. We’re a championship-winning team, and we want to retain that championship,” he stressed.
Koko has won the league seven times in his career, and he is looking to help the Port Harcourt club reach its height.
“I want us to win the 2025 NPBL title. It’s on my mind, day and night: Hoopers Champions. And I’m assuring our fans that we’re not going to let them down. It’s happening here in Port Harcourt, and we’re going to make them proud.”
Nigeria Premier Football League newcomers, Barau FC have zoomed out of the drop zone after they defeated Rangers International FC 2-0 on Sunday in a rescheduled tie played in Kano.
The Maliya Boys got their goals through Muhammed Umar and Joseph Kemin in the 26th and 76th minutes to record their third win of the season
They have moved to the 16th spot with 13 points from 12 games but the loss by the Flying Antelopes see them slid to the seventh spot with 19 points from 13 games.
The home win is no doubt a relief to Barau FC head coach, Ladan Bosso who has seen his job brought under scrutiny following the Maliya Boys impressive start to the season.
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