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Ex FIFA boss Blatter faces fresh inquiry

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter is the target of a criminal investigation in Switzerland for suspected mismanagement of a $1 million payment from football funds.

Blatter has been notified by Swiss federal prosecutors he is an “accused person” over a loan FIFA gave in 2010 to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association, according to a document seen by The Associated Press.

Blatter, 84, has denied any wrongdoing during decades of financial scandals linked to football’s world governing body, though he was banned from the presidency and risks being brought to trial in his home country.

The payment now publicly revealed came from a FIFA account on April 13, 2010, and was interest-free, unsecured and later waived as a kind of gift, the document detailed.

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It is the latest allegation in Swiss and American federal investigations tying FIFA to irregular payments benefiting Jack Warner, its former vice president from Trinidad who is fighting extradition to the United States.

Warner long controlled a key bloc in FIFA elections until he left football after being implicated in bribing voters to oppose Blatter in 2011. He was also an elected lawmaker in the Caribbean nation and became a government minister after a general election held in May 2010.

Two former senior FIFA officials — Jerome Valcke as Secretary General and Markus Kattner as Finance Director — are also named as accused persons.

The Swiss federal prosecution office said in a statement on Saturday that criminal proceedings against Blatter were extended last month to include Valcke and Kattner. The office said both men, who were fired by FIFA in 2016, have the presumption of innocence.

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The investigation document is dated May 13, 2020 — several weeks after the office said it was closing one of two criminal proceedings opened against Blatter five years earlier.

The allegation to be dropped was that Blatter mismanaged a World Cup broadcast deal for the Caribbean that let Warner personally profit by millions of dollars.

That prosecution decision revealed in April suggested Blatter could be cleared by Swiss justice after years under suspicion and while serving a six-year ban by FIFA’s ethics committee. It expires in October 2021.

A Swiss criminal proceeding has also been open against Blatter since September 2015 related to FIFA payments to former UEFA president Michel Platini. That allegation led to FIFA’s ethics committee banning both men from football. –AP

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Ghana’s U-15 Boys’ team kicks off CAF African Schools Football Championship against Uganda

Ghana’s U-15 boys’ team will begin their CAF African Schools Football Championship campaign against Uganda at 11 am on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.

The team will then face South Africa on Thursday, followed by a match against Algeria to conclude the group phase. To progress to the semifinals, Ghana will need to finish either 1st or 2nd in their group.

The 2025 CAF African Schools Football Championship kicks off on Wednesday, April 23, and wraps up on Friday, April 26, 2025, at the University of Ghana Stadium.

The boys’ competition schedule is attached below:

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Ghana’s U-15 Girls’ team to face Morocco in CAF African Schools Football Championship opener

Ghana’s U-15 girls’ team will kick off their CAF African Schools Football Championship campaign against Morocco at 12:30 pm on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.

The team will then take on Benin on Thursday, followed by a match against Malawi to conclude the group phase. To secure a semifinal spot, Ghana will need to finish either 1st or 2nd in their group.

The 2025 CAF African Schools Football Championship kicks off on Wednesday, April 23, and wraps up on Friday, April 26, 2025, at the University of Ghana Stadium.

The girls’ competition schedule is attached below:

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