Mali: sports ministry orders financial audit of FEMAFOOT
Mali's sports ministry has asked its Inspectorate service to carry out a full audit of FEMAFOOT
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As in several African countries, relations between the football federation and the sports ministry are fairly strained in Mali.
On 30 January, minister Abdoul Kassim Fomba publicly took aim at the running of FEMAFOOT at a press conference, explaining that the federation had been forced to repay 18 million CFA francs to the State.
For his part, the federation president, Bavieux Touré, who has been in prison for a year and a half awaiting trial, had also criticised "the lack of support from [my] national supervisory authority" in a letter announcing his withdrawal from standing for a new term on the FIFA Council.
The audit will cover the period from 2020 to 2024
After launching a general audit of the CNOSM (Comité national olympique et sportif malien, the Malian National Olympic and Sports Committee), the minister asked the Youth and Sports Inspectorate to also carry out an audit of FEMAFOOT covering 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2024.
Read also: Mali: false invoices and fraud at the CNOSM
Around forty points remain to be clarified, notably the allocation of funds provided by the State, the national teams, appearance fees for friendlies, contracts with the various sponsors (Airness, Petro Bama, etc.), the staffing situation, allowances paid to officials, unpaid taxes, etc. Obviously, to avoid any interference with FIFA, the investigations will not cover the grants given by football's world governing body.
In recent years, audits commissioned by FEMAFOOT had already uncovered some shortcomings. The federation, however, is highlighting recent achievements such as the renovation of the Stade Amary Daou in Ségou, in the presence of the Prime Minister.