Sports
Government interference: FIFA bans Mali from international football
World football governing body, FIFA, on Friday in Zurich said all of Mali’s football clubs have been suspended from international competitions after the country’s government interfered in the national association.
FIFA took action after Mali’s sports minister, Housseini Amion Guindo, decided to replace the executive body of the Malian Football Association FEMAFOOT with a new provisional leadership.
FIFA has always insisted that its member associations must be able to manage their affairs independently without any interference from the government.
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In a statement, FIFA said: “The decision (to suspend) was prompted by the actions of the Sports Minister of Mali, Mr Housseïni Amion Guindo, who decided to dissolve the executive committee of FEMAFOOT and appoint a provisional committee mandated to run the association and to facilitate the election of a new executive committee within twelve months, despite an earlier clarification from FIFA that FEMAFOOT is obliged… to manage its affairs independently and with no influence from third parties.”
“The suspension will be lifted once ministerial decisions are nullified,’’ the statement added.
This means FEMAFOOT has lost its FIFA membership rights, and the national team and clubs from the country are banned from international events.
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