Featured image credit: CAF
Patrice Motsepe has been re-elected unopposed as president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Motsepe (pictured) will serve a second four-year term and has pledged to invest in stadium infrastructure across the continent. There are currently 12 CAF members that do not have stadiums of a high enough standard to host international matches, and Motsepe is seeking to change this.
“But for us it is 12 too many,” Motsepe said, according to the Associated Press news agency. “You cannot develop football in any country in Africa if the national teams and clubs do not play in front of their supporters.”
The South African added: “Many of the heads of state I meet, they say to me, ’Whatever money we have, we have got to pay back our loans. We love football but we have to ask ourselves should we take the money to build a stadium or build a hospital or build a clinic or spend more on education?’”
“There is a love for football but the support of the government is not as strong as it can be. And it is not because the governments don’t love football.”
Live entertainment and ticketing firm TEG has announced the appointment of Geoff Jones as chairman, while Brad Banducci has been named chief executive.
Jones moves into the chairman role after serving as chief executive for 14 years. Banducci joins TEG having most recently worked as chief executive of Woolworths Group.
Formula 1 has announced that Stefano Domenicali has extended his agreement with Liberty Media to continue serving as president and chief executive of the series until 2029.
Domenicali became F1 president and chief executive at the start of 2021 and has played a key role in driving the growth of the series. Before joining F1, Domenicali began his professional career at Ferrari, where he held various roles before becoming team principal in 2008.
He joined Audi AG as vice-president of new business initiatives in 2014 and was named chairman and chief executive of Automobili Lamborghini in 2016.
Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen has appointed Peter Walker as general manager of hospitality and events at Pittodrie Stadium.
Walker most recently served as general manager at the Marcliffe Hotel and Spa. He was also general manager of Fonab Castle Hotel and Spa in Perthshire and spent over five years at Maryculter House in Aberdeen.
The appointment comes after Aberdeen recently shelved plans for a proposed beachfront stadium in favour of pursuing upgrades at Pittodrie.
Simon Johnson has stepped down as chair of the Rugby Football League (RFL) after nearly six years in the role.
He was appointed interim chair in July 2019 and took on the role permanently in October of that year. He leaves the RFL with 15 months remaining on his second term.
Johnson first joined the RFL board as a non-executive director in July 2014. He had previously served as director of rights and business affairs at ITV and spent two years as director of legal and business affairs at the Premier League.
Do you have news of an appointment that we should know about? Get in touch by emailing news.editor@thestadiumbusiness.com and we’ll include it in our next round-up.
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