Sports
FIFA Clears Infantino Of Ethics Violation
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been cleared of violating the world governing body’s regulations after a preliminary investigation by its ethics committee.
Infantino is the subject of a criminal investigation over an alleged secret meeting with Swiss Attorney -General Michael Lauber. Both deny wrongdoing.
FIFA said documents shared by the Swiss courts were scrutinised.
“No aspect of the conduct analysed constitutes a violation,” it said.
“Some aspects do not even fall within the provisions of the FIFA code of ethics, or justify the adoption of any kind of measure, including that of a provisional suspension.”
Earlier in August, in a letter to member associations, Infantino said any meetings were “in no way secret and most certainly not illegal”.
However, the Swiss admitted the criminal investigation had already “caused considerable damage to FIFA as an organisation and to myself as its president”.
Infantino said the meetings with Lauber were broadly to discuss the fact the Attorney -General’s office was investigating a series of criminal allegations in which FIFA was a damaged party.
Neither Lauber nor Infantino have been able to recollect the specific details of their final meeting in 2017.
Rivers United FC of Port Harcourt contingent, comprising players, technical crew, backroom staff, and officials, depart the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos State on Wednesday, bound for Kinshasa, DR Congo.
The team is set to face FC Les Aigles du Congo in the first-round first-leg match of the CAF Champions League.
This was contained in a press release signed by the media officer of the club, Charles Mayuku and made available to Tidesports on Wednesday.
He said that the highly anticipated match is scheduled to take place at the 80,000-capacity Kinshasa-Complexe Omnisports Stade des Martyrs on morrow with kickoff slated for 3:30pm.
According to the statement the encounter marks the first-ever meeting between both sides in any competition, adding that an air of excitement and unpredictability to the fixture.
“As the Pride of Nigeria embarks on this crucial journey, the team is determined to return with a decent result that will set them up favorably for the second leg on Sunday, 28th September” the statement said.
The new rankings, released via FIFA’s official X handle on Thursday, reflect the team’s continued struggles under Coach Eric Chelle amid a stuttering 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
This marks a second consecutive decline after the Nigerian side dropped from 43rd to 44th in August on the back of poor outings in recent international matches.
Despite Nigeria’s setback, several African teams made progress. Morocco remains the continent’s highest-ranked side, sitting 11th in the world after winning eight of their last nine matches. Senegal, Egypt, Algeria and Côte d’Ivoire complete Africa’s top five.
Lesotho slipped to 153rd place, while Benin Republic, Nigeria’s upcoming opponent, climbed to 93rd. South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, who held the Super Eagles to a 1-1 draw in June, rose to 55th, strengthening their bid for World Cup qualification.
Zimbabwe had the biggest slide down the ranking table, dropping nine places to 125th position in the world.
The rankings highlight Nigeria’s struggle to regain form on the global stage as key rivals continue to surge ahead.
Similarly, the Super Falcons of Nigeria remain 36th best in the world], while the Spanish female national team replaced the USA at the top of the women’s ranking.
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