The Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) has announced a financial package to regional football associations to support their activities due to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The EFF Executive Committee took the decision at their meeting on Thursday.
According to the EFF, it has allocated 2.8 million Birr ($83,000) for distribution to the regional associations to support their organizational activities.
Tigray, Amhara, SNNP, Oromia, Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa regional associations will get 300,000 Birr ($ 8,800) whilst Gambella, Afar, Benshal Gul, Harari and Ethio-Somali regions will receive 200,000 Birr ($5,800) each.
Apart from the financial package to members, the EFF also discussed the 2020/21 season and has constituted a committee in that regard.
In other news, EFF instructed football clubs that they have until set July 12, 2020 to settle accounts with their players whom they haven’t been paid for the past 3-4 months. Those who fail to do so, will not be permitted to sell their players or sign new ones for the upcoming new season, the EFF noted.
Meanwhile, the EFF has appointed Bahiru Tilahun as the new Secretary-General of the federation replacing Dr Iyassu Merha-Tsadik and Tewodros Franco will take the place of Dr. Tedla Dagnachew, who was recently named director of the Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) Soccer Academy.

Liverpool have ended their 30-year wait for a topflight title after being crowned Premier League champions following Manchester City’s 2-1 loss at Chelsea on Thursday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side defeated Crystal Palace 4-0 on Wednesday evening to leave them needing just two points from their remaining seven games to win the title. But with second-placed Manchester City now 23 points behind with seven matches remaining after Thursday’s result at Stamford Bridge, Liverpool have an unassailable lead at the top of the standings.
The triumph brings to an end a 30-year drought as Klopp’s class of 2020 ended their wait for a topflight title that stretched back to 1990, when Kenny Dalglish’s side won the old Football League championship. This season’s feat means Liverpool now have 19 titles to their name, one behind Manchester United, who sit on 20.
“I have no words. It’s unbelievable,” Klopp told Sky Sports in an interview after the Chelsea win. “It’s much more than I ever thought, to become champions with this outstanding club is unbelievable.”
Liverpool broke all sorts of records during a memorable campaign. They put together a record-equaling run of 18 consecutive wins from October through to Feb. 29 and have won every league match at home this season, making it a record 23 on the bounce. They also set a club record of 44 matches without defeat, stretching back to last season.
“It’s an incredible achievement for my players,” Klopp said.
The long wait has set off celebrations all throughout the football-mad city. And Klopp said the feeling of being a champion with the Reds was indescribable.
“It’s the best thing I could ever imagine and it’s more than I ever dreamed of,” he said.
Liverpool’s principal owner, John W. Henry, paid tribute to the team’s “magnificent achievement” on social media.
“‘This was a season for the ages and for the faithful of Liverpool Football Club,” Henry, who is head of Fenway Sports Group, tweeted.
“‘It has been an incredible year of magnificent achievement culminating tonight in capturing the Premier League title.
“‘This in addition to winning a European championship, a Super Cup and a world championship – the totality of this accomplishment has brought respite and joy to so many in a year filled with so much tragedy.
“‘LFC has made the beautiful game more beautiful than ever.
“It is said, ‘We are Liverpool’. You, the supporters are Liverpool in every sense and you continue to drive the club forward a historic club making history once again.”
When football was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, there were times Klopp feared his Liverpool side would be denied the chance to win the title on the pitch. When the league was suspended in March, Liverpool were 25 points clear at the top.
Discussions followed on how best to restart the league. Klopp admitted before Liverpool’s match against Everton last Sunday that he was worried the league would be decided by points per game or even voided. But to Klopp’s relief, the league restarted on June 17 and since then Liverpool have drawn with Merseyside rivals Everton 0-0 and swiped aside Palace to get over the finishing line.
Klopp joins Bob Paisley, Kenny Dalglish and Bill Shankly in Liverpool’s pantheon of managerial greats in winning a league title, with Jordan Henderson, who spearheaded the Players Together Initiative during lockdown to raise essential funds for the National Health Service (NHS), now a Premier League-winning captain.
Manchester City did their best to pin back Liverpool’s lead throughout the season, but there was no stopping Klopp’s runaway side. They have led the standings since the second week of the season, and suffered their first Premier League defeat only in February, with a surprise 3-0 loss against Watford.
A slightly dodgy spell of form followed as Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup and the Champions League, but the season hiatus allowed star goalkeeper Alisson to return to full fitness and prompted Liverpool to shift back into familiar winning ways.
Klopp said midweek that it was “unthinkable” that any team would be 20 points ahead of Manchester City meaning his team “must’ve done a couple of things really well and right” – but the result at Stamford Bridge on Thursday will spark joy throughout Liverpool. In the 30-year drought Liverpool won the 2005 and 2019 Champions Leagues and three FA Cups, but the league triumph sees them return to the summit of English football.
Guardiola paid tribute to Liverpool after his side’s loss.
“Big congratulations for Liverpool,” said the Spaniard, whose title-winning side finished 25 points ahead of Klopp’s team two seasons ago and pipped them by a point last term.
“After 30 years without the title they played every game this season like it was their last with incredible focus. We were not consistent enough,” he added.
It has been a fantastic campaign, with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane chipping in with 17 and 15 league goals, respectively. The full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson have 20 assists between them, while that lethal front three of Salah, Mane and Roberto Firmino chipped in with a further 21 assists. Alisson has the most clean sheets in the Premier League this term with 12, while Klopp has won five of the seven Manager of the Month awards.
It has been a tale of domination, but Liverpool will have to wait to celebrate it with their fans with the Premier League season being played out behind closed doors.
(ESPN)

Somalia became the second African country after Tanzania to resume its domestic football season following a three-month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March, the minister for youth and sports, Khadija Mohamed Diriye announced a halt to all sporting activities in the country shortly after the first COVID-19 case was reported in the country.
The last game in the Somali Premier League to be played was a 2-1 away win for Mindimo against Jazeera on March 18. Following the resumption on Thursday, Horseed Sports Club beat Raadsan 4-0 while Mogadishu City defeated Elman 2-0 on Friday. Meanwhile, on Monday, Dekkeda thrashed bottom-of-the-table Rajo 4-1.
Thursday and Friday’s matches had been scheduled to take place just before the suspension of the season. On Wednesday last week, the Somali Football Federation president Abdiqani Said Arab announced that all football competitions in the country will resume on Thursday after the federal government allowed a resumption of all sport in the country. The Somali Premier League became the first sport in the country to restart following the break.
Senior Somali FA vice president, Ali Abdi Mohamed had said that a number of precautions had been taken to ensure the resumption of the league.
These included having all matches played without spectators until further notice, a ban on pre-match handshakes, rearrangement of technical benches to ensure social distancing, provision of hand sanitizers and tissue paper and deployment of additional stewards and volunteers to enforce regulations.
Horseed currently top the table with 25 points after 12 games followed by Mogadishu City and Dekkeda both on 24 points. However, Dekkeda has played a game more than Horseed and Mogadishu City. Jazeera and Rajo are ninth and tenth respectively with six and five points.