Samuel Eto'o: Ex-footballer Unhurt After Car Crash in Cameroon

 

Samuel Eto'o was travelling in a 4x4 vehicle in Cameroon when it was involved in a collision

Former Cameroon captain Samuel Eto'o has escaped uninjured from a car crash on Sunday.
    The 39-year-old was travelling between Douala and Bafoussam in Cameroon when the 4x4 he was travelling in was involved in a head-on collision with a bus.
    The front end of the 4x4 was badly damaged but fortunately no-one was injured.
    A spokesman for Eto'o, Frank Happi, told BBC Sport Africa that the former Barcelona star had no injuries after visiting a hospital for a check-up.
    Eto'o decided against pressing charges against the driver, who had initially tried absconding from the scene before being apprehended and taken to a police station.
Instead of taking legal action, there is video footage of Eto'o talking to the driver and urging him to drive more carefully.

Alex Song: Ex-Arsenal & Barcelona Star Lands in Djibouti

Former Cameroon international Alex Song has played in France, England, Spain, Russia and Switzerland

 Former Cameroon international Alex Song has completed a surprise move to little known Djibouti club Arta Solar 7.
    "I have signed a two year contract with Arta. This is an opportunity to promote Djibouti football", the former Barcelona and Arsenal midfielder announced on twitter.
    The 33-year-old has been a free agent since March when he and eight other players were dismissed by Swiss club FC Sion for refusing a pay-cut amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
    Arta won last season's Djibouti Cup as they finished fourth in country's top flight.
The cup victory means Song's new club qualified for the Confederation Cup, the second-tier African club competition, where they will face Egyptian side Arab Contractors in the preliminary round.
    The club have confirmed he will be unveiled officially on Thursday.
    Local media have also reported that Song will also oversee the club's youth development, a decision made after he met with the club's president.
    The move has come as a surprise to many with Djibouti ranked at 185 out of the 210 nations on Fifa's latest rankings while they are 51 in Africa, with only Somalia, Seychelles and Eritrea ranked lower in the continent.
    It seems in stark contrast to his earlier career that saw him move from French side Bastia to English club Arsenal before joining Spanish giants Barcelona for a fee of $20 million.
    He played more than 100 times for Arsenal and won La Liga with Barcelona in 2013 while at international he was part of Cameroon's squad at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and four years later in Brazil.
    In 2016 Song left Barcelona to join Russian side Rubin Kazan on a free transfer where he played for two years then joined FC Sion.
    During his time at Barcelona he also spent two seasons on loan at English club West Ham
    Last month Song announced completion of an international school in his home town Douala, Cameroon, which comprises of a day care, nursery, primary and secondary school.

AFCON Qualifiers: Spectators Barred from Cameroon - Mozambique Match

 The match between Cameroon and Mozambique Thursday, November 12, 2020, in Douala will not be opened to spectators, authorities have said.
    In a release issued Tuesday, November 10, by Cameroon’s minister of sports and physical education, only officials and players with access badges and authorized accreditations shall be permitted to enter the Douala Reunification Stadium.
    Narcisse Mouelle Kombi says the decision was taken at a meeting with officials of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and in conformity with COVID-19 preventive measures put in place by FIFA.
    The minister of sports and physical education however has called on Cameroonians to follow the encounter on CRTV.
    The match between Cameroon and Mozambique will count for the third day of play of qualification matches for “AFCON TOTAL CAMEROON 2021”. Cameroon will play the return leg match on Monday, November 16, 2020, in Mozambique.
    Despite the postponement of the competition from 2021 to 2022, CAF says the name remains AFCON TOTAL 2021.
    Cameroon’s minister of public health Dr. Manaouda Malachie has earlier mentioned that the number of COVID-19 positive cases are on the rise in Cameroon.

CAF Sets New Champions League Venue, Date

The Confederation of African Football, CAF, has confirmed the venue and format change for the 24th Edition of the 2019/20 Champions League semifinals and final following Cameroon’s withdrawal as host.
This comes a month after FECAFOOT President Seidou Mbombo Njoya in a press conference announced Cameroon’s decision to withdraw from  hosting the 2019/20 CAF Champions League Semifinals and finals due to the Corona virus pandemic. 
    The decision came as a shock to many Cameroonians who opined it was not necessary to declined when top competitions in Europe were going on too, with precautions to limit or prevent the spread of the virus.

    Originally, Ethiopia was on February 4, 2018, designated to host the tournament after the previous finals in Morocco. The Ethiopian Football Federation admitted it was not ready to host this competition, and Cameroon stepped in to replace Ethiopia.  On April 13 2019, Cameroon was appointed to replace Ethiopia as host of the tournament. The appointment came after Cameroon was stripped off the hosting right of the just ended edition of African Cup of Nations in 2019 hosted by Egypt.

    The games were scheduled to take place at one central location in a one-legged format with Al Ahly (Egypt) meeting Wydad Casablanca (Morocco) while Zamalek (Egypt) take on Raja Casablanca (Morocco) in the last-four round.
    According to information released by CAF recently, the semifinals will be played on a home and away basis with the first leg matches to be played on September 25 and 26 in Morocco, while the second leg matches will be played, October 2 and 3, in Egypt.
    The one-off final will happen at a neutral venue on 16 or 17 October 2020. The football body has invited bids from member associations, excluding Egypt and Morocco, for the hosting rights. The deadline for bid submission is August 17, 2020. CAF adds that should two teams from the same FA reach the final, the encounter will be played in that Country. Espérance de Tunis, who had won the last two titles, was eliminated by Zamalek in the quarter-finals. The winners of the 2019–20 CAF Champions League will qualify for the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar, and earn the right to play against the winners of the 2019–20 CAF Confederation Cup in the 2020 CAF Super Cup in August.

Fulfilling 30 Years Promise:

Biya Offers Houses to 22 Italia ‘90’ Heroes
President Paul Biya has signed a decree ordering the allocation of 22 modern accommodations to the 22 Indomitable Lions who took part in the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy.
The good news was broken to the rest of the team by Cameroon’s roving ambassador, Albert Roger Milla.
    This comes 30 years after he made the promise, and also comes on the heels of a letter sent to the President on June 15 by the ‘Collectif des anciens lions indomptables’.
    In the letter signed by the Association’s president Bertin Ebwele, the players reminded the president of his engagement 30 years after, an engagement that was still to be respected.
    Paul Biya first responded on June 26, thanking the players for their sacrifices and their love for the country. Then Mr. Biya responded generously 48 hours ago, instructing his collaborators to make available the lodging facilities to the Lions.
    “We are very grateful the president has finally heard our plea. For the past few days, we have been holding meetings to bring everyone up to speed with information concerning our letter addressed to the President of the Republic”, Bertin Ebwele, President of the Collectif des anciens Lions Indomptables told Crtv-Radio.
    Speculations are rife that the President’s move might have been triggered by the death of the team’s captain, Stephen Tataw.
    Tataw who had been sick for long and abandoned by the government died on July 31st, 2020 at the age of 57.
    In an interview granted to Olympia Sports in Yaoundé, one of the 1990 kingpins, Albert Roger Milla, said “the President’s gesture has nothing to do with the unfortunate demise of Tataw Stephen”. Milla further calls on the different generations of the indomitable lion to defend their course.
    Three of the 22 indomitable lions who featured in the 1990 Mundial will not enjoy these modern lodging facilities. Louis Paul Mfede, Benjamin Massing, and Tataw Stephen have all died.
    Meanwhile, Cameroonians have reacted divergently to Mr. Biya’s move. While some have applauded the President for his generosity, others have argued that it came very late.
    According to the Director of the SIC, the allocation of the modern buildings will be executed in the days ahead.

European Football:

UEFA Champions League Resumes on 7 August

The 2019/20 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will be played as a straight knockout tournament in Lisbon, Portugal in August. All these ties will be single-leg fixtures. The games will be split between Benfica's Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica (which will host the final) and Sporting CP's Estádio José Alvalade.

                A decision is pending on whether the remaining round of 16 second legs will take place at the home team's stadium or in Portugal. The Estádio do Dragão in Porto and the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães will host the four outstanding second legs if required.

                The 2019/20 UEFA Champions League has been on hold since Wednesday 11 March due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The revised schedule to conclude this season's competition was confirmed following Wednesday's UEFA Executive Committee meeting.

2019/20 UEFA Champions League schedule

7-8 August: Round of 16 second legs (venues to be confirmed)

12-15 August: Quarter-finals (Lisbon)

18-19 August: Semi-finals (Lisbon)

23 August: Final (Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon)

                All fixtures will kick off at 21:00 CET. The quarter-final and semi-final draws will take place in Nyon on 10 July; the exact match schedule will then follow.

Reviewing the Pandemic:

Sports Minister Evaluates Impact of Covid-19 on Athletes

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Sports and Physical Education Minister, Professor Narcisse Mouelle Kombi has evaluated the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sports sector in the country as well other international completions that were to be hosted by Cameroon.

               

Prof. Narcisse Mouelle Kombi

The Minister made the evaluation of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on national sports and Cameroonian athletes and its implications on international sports during an audience with the President of the National Olympic and Sports Committee (NOSC), Kalkaba Malboum Wednesday 17 June 2020.

                Both officials during the audience brainstorm on strategies that can be adopted to maintain Cameroonian athletes in top form ahead of upcoming competitions while respecting the barrier measures prescribed by the President of the Republic to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

                Mouelle Kombi urged his collaborators to federate efforts with the NOSC in order to bring together sports activities and sports management within the renovated budget as a result of the health crisis.

Continental Football:

AFCON 2021 to Kick-Off In January

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) is still maintaining a January start for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, despite ongoing uncertainty about the continent’s football because of coronavirus.

              

Ahmad Ahmad

  Unclear when many competitions will resume across the continent, where only a handful of leagues are operating, the tournament in Cameroon is shrouded in doubt.

                Caf itself has yet to confirm a restart date for any of its own tournaments amidst the pandemic, with Cameroon the sixth worst-affected country in Africa with nearly 10,000 reported cases.

                Four of the six rounds of Nations Cup qualifying have still to take place.

                “The Africa Cup of Nations is still planned for Cameroon from 10 January to 8 February 2021,” Caf’s competitions director Samson Adamu told BBC Sport Africa.

                “That is subject to change as the Nations Cup is still being assessed. The final decision is to be taken by the Executive Committee soon.”

                Last week Caf’s Acting Secretary General Abdel Bah told Cameroon media that ‘hosting the Nations Cup next January remains Caf’s number one priority amid considerations.’

                Yet if qualifying does not take place in the international windows in October and November (playing two rounds each month), staging the expanded 24-team tournament in seven months’ time is unlikely to happen.

                Rounds three and four of qualifying should have been played in March, with the penultimate round in early June and the final round between 31 August-8 September.

                All these dates have been cancelled though because of the coronavirus, whose true impact on Africa is unclear because of a testing shortage in many countries.

Njie Clinton: Covid-19 Positive Yet Confident

Indomitable Lions striker, Njie Clinton, has reassured Cameroonians and his fans in particular that he is in good physical and mental shape. The Dynamo Moscow goal poacher spoke Saturday evening through his Cameroon-based media relations assistant, Rene Katche, shortly after testing positive for covid-19.

               

Clinton Njie

“Tell them I’m ok. They should not bother; all will be fine with me. Tell them not to be scared.”

                Clinton Njie revealed in his characteristic joviality that he is physically and mentally strong, adding that he will strictly follow his medical protocol with the help of his Dynamo Moscow medical staff.

                He also revealed that he was self-isolating in his Moscow residence where he is comfortable. He revealed that all other related tests including cardiac are negative.

                “I’m fine and comfortable at my home, so don’t be scared,” the former Lyon and Tottenham striker assured.

                Speaking through video call, Njie also reassured his family including his mom and siblings who have been very worried.

“I called to reassure them that I am in good shape, and that they shouldn’t be worried.”

Last month Njie joined the battle against covid-19 with a donation of over Fcfa 3 million to the Buea General Hospital.

Africa Cup of Nations:

Caf Pushes Cameroon Afcon to January 2022

-Hints qualifiers will resume in October

Caf Secretary General Abdelmounaim Bah says moving the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament to June or July is not an option, but January 2022 would be an alternative in the event the finals fail to be staged next year.

               

The continental football governing body is still optimistic its flagshipcompetition will go ahead in 

January 2021 but has a Plan B in place

Qualifying matches for Afcon have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, a move that could see the finals scheduled to be hosted by Cameroon from January 9 to February 6, 2021, being moved to later dates.

Caf has already cancelled the March and June qualifiers, and Bah says it is now impossible to have August matches go ahead as planned.

With some countries intending to have their domestic leagues running in the next few months and also following the resumption of football in Europe, Caf hopes Afcon qualifiers could continue in October, at a time when four rounds of matches would have already been lost.

                "What we can say is that all the confederations hope to be able to play again this year and each is making its [own] arrangements. In this regard, the Asian confederation has announced that it will resume its qualifications in October and November. And at Caf we subscribe to this logic," Bah told Radio Sport Info .

"The international windows scheduled for March and June have been cancelled, but the months of October and November 2020 represent a lot of hope. We no longer include September in the strategies because it will be quite complicated to have the teams travel from one country to another as early as September. This means that the matches can resume locally but international matches will be difficult to be held because of the travel factor."

                Bah says if Afcon fails to take place in January 2021, the next best option would be to stage the tournament 12 months later. He says switching the tournament to June 2021 would see Afcon suffer counter-attraction from the European Championship and Copa America.

                "If we cannot make up for the Afcon 2021 qualifiers in October and November, we will have to think of another plan... But today the longer the crisis lasts, the more this scenario deserves to be thought about. Afcon next January, however, remains our number one priority," said Bah.

Coping with Covid-19:

B’da II Mayor Rallies Elite, Youths in Sports

By Philo Happi in Bamenda

B’da II Mayor rallies elite, youths

The Mayor of the Bamenda II council, Chenwi Peter has launched a three day outdoor sports competition with goal to unite the elite and youth of the municipality for a common development vision and the fight to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the municipality.

                The three day competition is under the theme "Youth and Elite Uniting for a common vision and a fight against COVID-19 within the Municipality under the patronage of the Mayor of Bamenda II".

                Chenwi told reporters shortly after the launch that there's no need carrying on with infrastructural development without uniting inhabitants of the municipality for a common goal.

                "Since we took over office, there has been certain challenges but there is calm now due to media collaboration. The vision of this competition is uniting the Youth and Elite. We cannot go and be constructing schools, building bridges when we cannot focus as one," Chenwi explained.

Ahead of CHAN 2020:

CAF Team Evaluates Coronavirus Incidence in Cameroon

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Officials of the Confederation of African Football, CAF, have announced that a team of health experts from their medical committee will be send to Cameroon this weekend to evaluate the health situation of the country following the confirmation of two cases of the deadly Coronavirus in the country.

                The two cases were confirmed by Cameroon’s Public Health Minister, Dr. Manaouda Malachie. A joint press conference was granted to that effect to explain emergency measures put in place by the government to contain the spread of the virus and strengthen screening measures at all the entry and exit points nationwide.

                “Regarding the Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) Cameroon 2020, a delegation from the CAF Medical Committee is scheduled to visit Cameroon from 14-15 March 2020. The purpose of this mission is to assess all the preventive measures taken by the Local Organizing Committee,” partly read CAF’s statement.

Cleanliness Is Godliness:

Limbe Cleaned Up Ahead of CHAN

By Ticha Melanis in Limbe

Fako administration has emphasized on hygiene in Limbe, Buea

In view of the African championship CHAN 2020 that is to take in Cameroon and Limbe chosen as one of the host cities for the games, the SDO for Fako Engamba Emmanuel Ledoux has launched a special clean-up campaign to keep the division clean before the games slated from April 4-25, 2020 commences.

                The launching took place on Thursday March 12, 2020 at the Limbe city council hall. He called on stakeholders in the division especially quarter heads and chiefs to take the exercise very seriously by creating quarter committees to follow up the cleanliness of their quarters.

                The SDO explained that Limbe has always been a clean city and it should stay at that and equally mentioned that the hygienic state of the city is not the best as road side petrol sales point on the rise, abandoned vehicles and building and more. He urged everybody to take up special cleanup campaign to keep the city clean to give the visitor a deserve stay. 

Darkness Befalls SW Ahead of CHAN

By Boris Esono in Buea

For the past days, the population of Buea, Tiko and those in Kumba, all in the South West Region of Cameroon has become accustomed to the noise emanating from generators around these municipalities. These areas have been living under constant power outages.

                The localities at the moment that are affected included: West Coast, Limbe, Ombe Mutengene, Tiko, Missellele, Buea, Ekona, Muyuka, Mbonge, Tombel, Kumba, and their surroundings.

                The blackout started in Buea, chief town of the South West Region in the evening hours of Sunday, March 8. And at the time of this report, the epileptic nature of the electricity supply is still being felt in the Buea municipality. The Worst still, a whole day will pass and the municipality will be in darkness, no light from morning till morning.

                “What kind of thing is this? How can ENEO be seizing lights when we are writing our examinations,” lamented a UB student, who noted: “I have been forced to use candles to read all this while, and it has not been easy for me. My eyes pain each time I use the candle to read in the night. I hope the electricity supplier does something to rectify the situation soon.”

                Another Buea inhabitant wondered: “Is this the vision 2035 our government has been talking about. When there is monopoly over the provision of some necessities, such things are bound to happen. If we had another company charged with providing electricity, ENEO would have stepped up its game knowing there is competition. But they are relaxed because there is not competition.”

                Business premises especially those that need electricity supply to function (documentation, cyber café) have felt the brunt of this power outages. Majority of them do not open their shops or do open with the hope that the light will be brought back. That hope, however, as the day unfolds turns to disappoint as the light is not brought back.

                A message from the electricity company, ENEO Cameroon S.A dated 11 March 2020, indicated that the disruption to the electrical service currently being experienced by its esteemed customers in Fako and Meme Divisions is as a result of an incident that occurred on the transformer of the Limbe Mile 2 substation on Sunday 8, March 2020 at 07:00

35th International Women’s Day:

Over 1500 Military, Civilian Women Fete At Mindef

The women undertook a sports walk on the streets of the capital Yaounde, on 5 March, as part of activities to mark the celebration of the 35th Women’s Day at the Ministry of Defence

By Mercy Neba in Yaounde

Commandant of the 1st Military region, Col. Ayukegba Benedict 

cuts symbolic ribbon to signal the start of the sports walk

Within the framework of activities to mark the 35th International Women’s Day in Cameroon, some over 1500 women undertook a walking exercise along the streets of Yaounde, on Thursday 5 March 2020.

                The sports walk that brought together female military and civilian personnel of the defence and security forces, customs, penitentiary administration and forestry and wildlife, as well as the spouses of authorities and personel of the above-mentioned administrations, was organized by the 1st Military Sector in Yaounde.

Commonwealth Week:

India-Cameroon Friendship Showcased in Cricket

A friendly cricket match pitting the Cameroon Cricket Lions against a selection of Indian Cricket players in Yaounde, was a veritable showcase of the excellent relations that exist between Yaounde and New Delhi.

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Joint Indian and Cameroon Cricket family pose for a snapshot

The friendly match staged on Sunday 1st March, at the Lycee Generale Leclerc playground in Yaounde, was part of activities to commemorate the 2020 Commonwealth Day.

                It was organized by the Cameroon Cricket Federation, FECACRICKET, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Games Association of Cameroon, CGAC, the Department of Commonwealth at the Ministry of external Relations (MINREX) and The Indian High Commission in Cameroon.

                Speaking on the occasion, Victor Agbor Nso, FECACRICKET President, hailed the excellent, rapidly growing cooperation ties between Cameroon and India.

Agbor Nso, who doubles as Vice President of the Commonwealth Games Association in Cameroon, expressed gratitude to the Indian government through the High Commissioner for the country’s ‘invaluable contributions’ towards the growth and development of Cricket in Cameroon.

                He also used the occasion to thank the Indian government for sponsoring two young Cameroonian cricketers to undertake a one-month training course at the Bengaleru Cricket camp in India.

                He said the friendly cricket encounter serves as an opportunity for both nations to chart a way forward towards a better promotion of cricket in Cameroon.

                The Indian High Commissioner to Cameroon, H.E. Rakesh Malhotra, for his part, also used the opportunity to highlight the friendly ties existing between Cameroon and India. He prayed that the friendly Yaounde-New Delhi ties should grow stronger especially after the creation of the Indian High Commission in Yaounde.

Coronavirus Outbreak:

Christian Bassogog Supports Cameroonians in China

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Christian Bassogog

Indomitable Lions international striker, Christian Bassogog, has offered the sum of FCFA 10 million as assistance to Cameroonians presently quarantined in China as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. The amount was handed to Felix Mbayu, Minister Delegate to the Minister of External Relations in Charge of Cooperation with the Commonwealth for onward transmission. It was during an audience Mbayu granted the 24-year-old striker Tuesday 25 February 2020 at the Ministry in yaounde. 

                “This money is aimed at helping Cameroonian nationals living in China especially the students,” said the 2017 AFCON best player, while, urging other Cameroonians of goodwill in other parts of the world to contribute to ameliorate the conditions of their kith and kin in China. He also appealed to all and sundry to join hands and assist the Chinese government, seriously battling to contain the crisis. 

Opening of 2020 Cricket Season:

Fecacricket Electrocutes Y’de Youths with Cricket Bonanza

The Youth Week Inter-Schools Cricket Bonanza holding at the Mevick BGS here, on Saturday, 8 February, saw the participation of young cricket players from selected schools in and around Yaounde.

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Fecacricket president, Victor Agbor, advising the youths

The Cameroon Cricket Federation, Fecacricket, has on 8 February launched its sporting activities for the 2020 season.

                The launching that coincided with activities of the National Youth Week, took the garb of a youth cricket bonanza which brought together at the Mervick Bilingual Grammar School playground, young cricketers from some selected cricket playing schools in Yaounde.

                The schools included notably Mervick BGS, BHS Essos, College Montesquieu Yaounde, College Larousse Yaounde and BHS Emana.

                Activities of the day started with the singing of the National Anthem, followed by remarks of advice by the President of Fecacricket, Victor Agbor Nso.

                Before the start of the day’s tournament, a mini didactic cricket match was played pitting some players of the under-17 national cricket selection against coaches of some cricket playing schools. The coaches won the match by 37 against 22 runs.

                The tournament proper had matches pitting the selected schools against one another, in both male and female categories.

                The first round results were the following: BHS Emana (Girls) 44 runs – College Larouse 43 runs; BHS Essos 22 runs – Mervick GHS 34 runs.

Cameroon Confident After CHAN 2020 Draw

Cameroon sports officials expressed full confidence that the national football team will perform “exceptionally” after draw of 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN) was conducted here on Monday evening.

              

CHAN 2020 Cup Draw in Yaounde

  “We have been waiting for this competition to come and we will undoubtedly strive to put in an exceptional performance. We are here in our land with the supporters behind us, so we have to work hard to reach the final,” Cameroon’s Minister of Sports and Physical Education Narcisse Mouelle Kombi told reporters during the glamorous ceremony at the Yaounde Sports Complex.

                Hosts Cameroon will face Mali, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe in Group A of the tournament.

                “We are ready to face any team. We have been working hard in a bit to reach the finals and win the championship. So we are ready to win CHAN,” Cameroonian coach Yves Clement Arroga said.

                Defending champions Morocco are in Group C with Uganda, Rwanda and debutants Togo.

                The tournament’s most successful team DR Congo who have won the tournament two times will headline Group B where they compete against Congo Brazzaville, Libya and Niger

                In Group D, Zambia, Guinea, Namibia and Tanzania will square out.

Manchester City Banned From Champions League for 2 Seasons

The club was also fined 30 million euros for “serious breaches” of European soccer’s financial regulations.

Manchester City has said it will fight any ruling thatbans the club from the Champions League

Manchester City, the reigning Premier League champion and one of the world’s richest soccer clubs, has been barred from the Champions League for the next two seasons for “serious breaches” of European soccer’s financial regulations.

                The decision, announced Friday by an independent financial control body of UEFA, the governing body for soccer in Europe, found that Manchester City had been guilty of multiple violations related to club licensing and so-called financial fair play rules — cost controls put in place by UEFA to try to mitigate the growing gap between rich clubs and poor ones in European leagues, and to tackle a growing debt crisis. The club, which also was criticized for failing to cooperate with UEFA’s investigators, also was fined 30 million euros ($32.5 million).

The penalty is the most significant punishment UEFA has handed out in the decade since it created its financial fair play regulations, and if upheld its consequences for Manchester City’s balance sheet and its competitive future could be severe. Participation in the Champions League is worth about $100 million a year to the club, and missing out on it could factor into the career decisions of some of the team’s star players, potential signings and even City’s coach, Pep Guardiola.