Election

Yesterday, the gods of football opened a new chapter in the history of the game. Gianni Infantino was elected as the President of FIFA by the Extraordinary FIFA Congress held in Zurich. He will serve the remainder of the current term of office (until 2019. He was elected as the ninth FIFA President after the second ballot with 115 of 207 total votes.

Gianni Infantino elected FIFA President

Results of the elections for the office of FIFA President:

Ballot 1:

  • HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein: 27 votes
  • Shk. Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa: 85 votes
  • Jérôme Champagne: 7 votes
  • Gianni Infantino: 88 votes

Ballot 2:

  • HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein: 4 votes
  • Shk. Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa: 88 votes
  • Jérôme Champagne: 0 votes
  • Gianni Infantino: 115 votes

At last, we have a new face as a FIFA president. I never believed it will be so soon but Sepp Blatter and Platini have ethics concerns to contend with and they are banned from football for 6 years. So I await the World Cup with 40 nations. How soon can Infantino get that to reality? Can we have such change in CAF? I am tired of hearing one name for years.

Resignation

Before the changes in Zurich, Nigerians woke up to see Sunday Oliseh’s resignation on Twitter.

The former Super Eagles recently attacked everyone on Youtube, accused others of witchcraft, but apologized to the Nigerians and the Nigeria Football Federation. It was believed that the dust had settled and the interest of the team and Nation will be foremost but Oliseh had other plans. He received his owed salaries and almost immediately resigned. His resignation is a blow to the Super Eagles quest to feature in the 2017 African Cup of Nations with a double header against the Pharoahs of Egypt.

I was indifferent about his appointment because he is such a rookie as a coach. But now, we can see that it was a wrong decision. He was always on the neck of Stephen Keshi, the chief coach before him. But now he can see how hurt the kitchen is. There is no ideal world. We work towards idealism but we must work with humans and the ability to manage these humans and maximize output gives you an edge. Recall that in his short era, Vincent Enyeama and Emmanuel Emenike had resigned from National team football – with signs of being pushed out. Stephen Keshi will be smiling at the drama.

Appointment

When you hit the turf, you have to rise up again. The NFF have appointed Samson Siasia to take over the Super Eagles for the double header against Egypt. He will be assisted by Salisu Yusuf and Emmanuel Amunike. Irrespective of the changes, Nigerians want to be in the 2017 AFCON after missing out on the 2015 edition despite winning the 2013 edition.

Arsenal

Away from the elections, resignations and appointments, Arsenal must turn a new leaf when they face Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Red Devils were hornier against FC Midtjylland and thrashed them 5-1 to progress to the next stage of the Europa League with a 6-3 aggregate. The gunners are still licking the wounds of being beaten by Messi but must look into the Devil’s eye and grab all three points if they must continue the challenge for the Premier League title. Goals are needed. When last did the Gunners score a goal?

Enyimba and the Nigerian Gang

Enyimba will need to overturn a 1-0 away loss to Vipers of Uganda over the weekend in Port Harcourt in the return leg. The Peoples Elephant are yet to score a competitive goal this season firing blanks against Rivers United, Akwa United and Vipers. Coach Paul is sitting on the edge of his seat now. There will be a meltdown if Enyimba don’t qualify to the first round of the CAF Champions League.

Nasarawa United travel to Senegal with a 2-1 first leg victory over Generation Foot. They must work hard of they are to progress to the first round of the CAF Confederations Cup. Akwa United look set to progress with a 1-0 away win in the 1st leg.

In the NPFL, there will juicy games across the federation. Did you miss the first two Matchdays? you missed a lot. Have you heard of MFM FC? Tune into Supersports 9 by 4pm on Sunday or follow the @lmcnpfl on twitter for live updates. It is getting hotter.

It is a packed weekend for me. Hopefully, it signals a new ERA for the teams i support.

Enjoy