A delegation comprising representatives from the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) held talks in Tunisia regarding the crisis facing the local football federation following the imprisonment of its president, Wadie Jary.
Since Jary’s incarceration in October on corruption charges, the Tunisian Football Federation has been managed by an interim committee.
His imprisonment came after months of tension with the authorities, posing a direct threat to Tunisia’s participation in the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Elections to select new executive committee members have been postponed twice due to the failure of candidate lists to meet all legal requirements.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports emphasized the need to revise the electoral law and the federation’s statutes. In a statement, the ministry noted that “it was agreed during the meeting with the FIFA delegation that solutions should be consultative and respect national sovereignty.”
The ministry added, “Representatives of FIFA and the Confederation of African Football expressed their full readiness to cooperate with Tunisia and support it by coordinating with all parties in a spirit of neutrality and transparency.”
The delegation included Gilson Fernandes, Director of Member Associations Africa at FIFA; John-Jacques Dean, a representative of the Confederation of African Football; and Ahmed Harraz, FIFA’s governance officer.
Last month, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decided to impose severe sanctions on Tunisian sports as a result of the failure of sports authorities in the country to comply with the global anti-doping code.
These sanctions come due to the failure to adhere to international standards in methods and analyses for detecting doping cases, as well as the failure to comply with the set of rules related to anti-doping and punishment for any legal violations of those rules.
