PRESS RELEASE

2026 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS: GOVERNOR UMO ENO PURCHASES 30,000 MATCH TICKETS FOR FANS

In line with his determination and promise to mobilize support for the victory of the Super Eagles of Nigeria against the Warriors of Zimbabwe, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has purchased 30,000 tickets for football fans and supporters ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualification match scheduled for Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.

Sequel to the purchase of match tickets for onward distribution to fans, the following venues will serve as distribution centres for match tickets from 5 p.m. today, Monday, March 24:
1. All radio stations
2. De Venus Bar and Restaurant, Stadium Road, Uyo
3. Uyo Township Stadium, Uyo
4. Plaza Management Committee Office, Ibom Plaza, Uyo
5. All previous sales agents and centres

Consequently, fans are to note the following:
1. The tickets are FREE. Do not BUY tickets from anybody.
2. No person will be permitted entry into the stadium without a ticket.
3. Tickets will not be distributed at the stadium. Fans without tickets should not be found within the stadium vicinity.
4. Fans in the stadium must be orderly and must abide by the seating arrangements and instructions as announced by the organizers.
5. All FIFA/CAF/NFF rules governing the organization of international football matches will be strictly adhered to.
6. Security agencies have been put on notice to ensure strict compliance with all the aforementioned guidelines.

This gesture by His Excellency is to encourage citizens and residents of the state to come out en masse and cheer the Super Eagles to victory.

Signed:
ELDER PAUL BASSEY
Honourable Commissioner for Sports
Akwa Ibom State

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and French football legend Michel Platini were on Tuesday, both cleared of corruption charges by the Extraordinary Appeals Chamber of the Swiss Criminal Court in the town of Muttenz, near Basel, Switzerland.

This comes two-and-a-half years after the duo was first acquitted of the offences.

Blatter and Platini, once among the most powerful figures in world football, were cleared of fraud mismanagement.

The hearing took place after Swiss federal prosecutors appealed against their 2022 acquittal at a lower court.

Both men had denied the charges which is over a 2 million Swiss franc (£1.6m) payment made to Platini, who was UEFA president at the time, in 2011.

The attorney general’s office in Switzerland had challenged a first acquittal in July 2022 and asked for sentences of 20 months, suspended for two years.

The scandal ended both men’s careers in football as they were banned from the global game in 2015, with Platini’s dream of succeeding Blatter at FIFA in tatters.

Nigeria’s hopes of playing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup might have just gotten an unexpected boost following controversy around South Africa midfielder, Teboho Mokoena.

Mokoena should have been suspended for Bafana Bafana’s Matchday 5 clash against Lesotho due to accumulated yellow cards.

He was booked in their Matchday 1 fixture against Benin Republic and picked up another on Matchday 4 against Zimbabwe.

The two bookings rendered Mokoena ineligible to feature in the subsequent fixture against Lesotho.

These revelations have sparked speculation that South Africa could face a points deduction if confirmed by the relevant authorities.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers rulebook subsection 9 states that a player who receives two yellow cards in separate matches must serve a one-match suspension.

Mokoena playing for 81 minutes against Lesotho is therefore a potential breach of FIFA regulations.

If the standard six-game suspension rule applies to the 10-game qualification format, South Africa could face a three-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player.

This development could dramatically shift the dynamics of Group C, where Nigeria is battling to secure a World Cup ticket.

South Africa currently tops Group C with 10 points, followed by Benin with eight, Rwanda with seven, and Nigeria in fourth place with six points.