COVID-19 pandemic to cost football N5.4trn this year —- FIFA

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Bern (Switzerland), Sept. 16, 2020 (Reuters/Naija247news) The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to cost club football 14 billion dollars (about N5.4 trillion) this year worldwide, a leading official at global football body FIFA said on Wednesday.

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Olli Rehn, who heads the FIFA committee set up to tackle the effects of the pandemic, said the cost is around one third of its value.

He added that FIFA, along with financial consultants, had estimated the club game to be worth between 40 billion dollars and 45 billion dollars worldwide.

Rehn said the figure of 14 billion dollars was based on the current scenario, where football is slowly restarting after a three-month hiatus earlier this year.

But the FIFA official stated that it would be a “different ball game” if the pandemic did not let up.

“Football has been hit very hard by the coronavirus pandemic,” Rehn, a former EU commissioner and now governor of the Bank of Finland, said.

“It has created plenty of turmoil at different levels with some professional clubs facing very serious difficulties.

“I’m also very concerned about youth academies and lower division clubs.”

Rehn said that football in South America had been especially hard hit, while Africa and Asia were also a concern.

“It is a real danger that the good work that has been done developing football in Asia and Africa could be ruined. So, we want to soften the blow and maintain the development that has been done,” he said.

FIFA has allocated 1.5 billion dollars to help tackle the effects of the pandemic and Rehn said 150 of the 211 member-associations had so far applied for funds.

He said that, while football was slowly re-awakening, another downturn could not be ruled out.

“The critical thing will be whether a vaccine will be developed and can be used, and that we have medical and other means to fully contain and tame the pandemic, and that is uncertain,” Rehn said.

“We cannot rule out worse developments and that would be another ball game if the pandemic were to continue in a severe form next year. Now we are working on the basis of the current scenario.”

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Coastal erosion, flood threaten Fed. Poly, Ekowe — Rector Erosion By Nathan Nwakamma Yenagoa, Sept. 16, 2020 (NAN) The management of the Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe in Bayelsa, says the institution is under serious threat by coastal erosion and perennial flooding. The Rector of the institution, Dr Seiyaboh Idah, said this at a news briefing on Wednesday at the Liaison Office of the polytechnic in Yenagoa. Idah said that the erosion had washed away over 10 per cent of the polytechnic’s facilities. He, therefore, called for urgent federal and state governments’ intervention to arrest the situation. He said that the institution, which is situated on the bank of Nun River in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, needed shoreline protection. The News Ageny of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the institution, which is sited in the oil-rich creeks of Bayelsa, can only be assessed by passenger boat. The rector, who was represented at the briefing by his Executive Assistant, Mr Alagha Bibi-Welson, said that the polytechnic had the capacity to host 15,000 full-time and part-time students. He, however, regretted that it could not attain its full potential because of the erosion menace. Idah also regretted that the polytechnic had yet to hook up to the national grid, saying that the institution was operating on generators for 20 hours daily. He said that insecurity and perennial flooding had forced at least 5,000 students of Bayelsa origin to seek admission in neighbouring Delta State Polytechnic. The rector expressed delight that the workers’ salary shortfall, which had always caused industrial unrest in the polytechnic had been permanently resolved. He said that the resolution was made possible through the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari and that the development had boosted workers’ morale. Idah further said that the institution now enjoyed industrial peace and harmony between the management and the various staff and students’ unions. He expressed joy that the students’ population had increased to almost 4,000 as against 40 in 2017, when he assumed office. The rector said that the institution’s plan to admit 1,000 students in 2020 to boost the population to 5,000 was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He listed other challenges facing the institution to include abandoned projects, dearth of workers and the lack of accommodation and access road.
Naija247news
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Naija247news is an investigative news platform that tracks news on Nigerian Economy, Business, Politics, Financial and Africa and Global Economy.

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