#Compliance Calendar December 2022

[myitronline]

Statutory Due Date Compliance Calendar December 2022.

The various statutory and compliance deadlines we have put together a consolidated compliance calendar December 2022 that shows all the important due dates. For more information visit the website.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Published: Jun 27, 2023

Homeopathic drugs have an unusual status in the United States. On the one hand, they are incorporated into the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) within the definition of “drug,” which specifically includes articles recognized in the official Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States (a historical perspective can be found in this ScienceInsider article from 2015, when government scrutiny was beginning to increase). But on the other hand, there is growing consensus that the effectiveness of such products is not supported by scientific evidence and that they are, in many cases, mere placebos that do not actually treat the patient’s medical conditions; in the worst cases, they contain harmful ingredients that may cause serious injury.

This extraordinary dichotomy has led to both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in recent years issuing modernized enforcement policies related to homeopathic drugs. An FTC enforcement policy statement from late 2016 requires homeopathic products to be marketed with clear disclosures stating that, among other things, there is no scientific evidence that the products work (see our prior post on the FTC policy here). Then in 2019 FDA took action to withdraw a long-standing compliance policy guidance for homeopathic drugs and to simultaneously issue a significant number of Warning Letters to companies marketing such products in violation of the FD&C Act (our prior posts on those activities are here and here).

Most recently, FDA finalized its draft guidance on homeopathic drugs – first issued in draft form in 2017 and then revised in 2019 – to lay out for industry the agency’s approach to “prioritizing regulatory actions for homeopathic products posing the greatest risk to patients.” The final guidance document issued in December 2022 can be found here. FDA also appears to be moving aggressively on the enforcement priorities as five letters relating to violative homeopathic drug products have been posted to the agency’s public Warning letter database since the beginning of calendar year 2023, as compared to four for the entire previous year. The FTC also included homeopathic drug manufacturers and distributors in the list of advertisers that received notices in April 2023 that their advertising claims need to be backed up with appropriate and reliable forms of scientific evidence (see here). Taken together, it’s clear that the homeopathy industry remains under major scrutiny by federal regulators seeking to enforce their fundamental public safety mandates, whether they fall under the FD&C Act or the prohibition on deceptive advertising contained in the Federal Trade Commission Act. 

Perhaps more noteworthy and concerning for the homeopathy industry, however, is a Fall 2022 decision by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals to allow civil cases to proceed against two retail pharmacies under a plaintiff’s novel application of D.C.’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act. The plaintiff in both lawsuits is the Center for Inquiry (CFI), a nonprofit that states it is “dedicated to defending science and critical thinking in examining religion. CFI’s vision is a world in which evidence, science, and compassion – rather than superstition, pseudoscience, or prejudice – guide public policy.” As part of this mission, and among several other lawsuits it has initiated in the homeopathy space, CFI sued two retail pharmacies in the District of Columbia on the grounds that they were violating the local deceptive trade practice statute. The complaint alleged these violations arose through the pharmacies’ indirect representations that homeopathic drug products labeled as cough, cold, and flu treatments have the same characteristics and benefits as over-the-counter drug products formulated with traditional active ingredients. In particular, although the pharmacies didn’t make express promotional statements comparing the different product types, the plaintiff argued that they placed homeopathic products adjacent to their traditional counterparts on physical shelves and in online shopping results, thereby creating the misleading impression that the different products had comparable efficacy.

CFI’s complaints were dismissed at the trial court level for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The two cases were then consolidated for purposes of the plaintiff’s appeal to the D.C. Court of Appeals. On the question of whether a cognizable claim had been asserted (this post won’t discuss the separate question that the appellate court reviewed, which was whether CFI had standing to sue the defendants), a three-judge panel ruled on September 29, 2022 that “whether the complained-of practices have a tendency to mislead reasonable consumers is a jury question” – thereby reinstating the complaints and remanding the cases for factual development. In reaching its decision, the court determined that a defendant did not need to make verbal statements in order for a “representation” to exist and that actions could also fall within the scope of the deceptive trade practices statute. Therefore the various factual allegations in CFI’s complaints – for example that the pharmacies displayed homeopathic products next to “science-based” drug products and that signage in the stores indicated that the entire section contained products for “Cold, Cough & Flu Relief” – were sufficient at the pleading stage to survive a motion to dismiss. As of June 2023, the dockets for both of these CFI lawsuits are active and discovery appears to be ongoing, so they continue to bear watching for future resolution on the merits. 

This recent ruling from the D.C. Court of Appeals foreshadows the possibility that retailers may opt to stop carrying homeopathic products in their stores (both physical and online) if the risk of liability to their own businesses becomes too great. Between the tightening of FDA’s and FTC’s rules for the industry and the increasingly creative use of existing consumer protection statutes by legal advocates, we could be witnessing a slow-motion demise of direct-to-consumer-based homeopathic product marketing. Only time will tell how the industry evolves in response to these numerous and formidable headwinds.

[amadowelch]

ERC Tax Credit Answers

how does the employee retention credit work

The employee retention credit is 50% of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an employer whose business is fully or partially suspended because of COVID-19, or whose gross receipts decline by more than 50%. after the end of that quarter.

Do you get money back from the employee retention credit? The ERC is a refundable credit that allows businesses to continue paying employees despite being shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic, or to offset significant drops in gross receipts between March 13, 2020 and December 31, 2021.

How is employee loyalty credit calculated?

According to the IRS's most recent information the IRS has indicated that a revised Form 941 submitted may receive a refund within 6 to 10 months of the date of filing. For refunds, those who just filed or who have previously filed may have to wait as long as 16 months.

Who qualifies for the Employee Retention Credit, (ERC).

The chances are you qualify for the employee tax credit to retain employees. To help businesses in economic hardship, the government offers the employee tax retention credit. A healthy economy requires healthy businesses. It is important to take advantage ERTC for a reward to yourself and your business that you have endured the past several years.

Why is it important to apply the employee retention tax credit fully or partially suspended operations during any calendar quarter due to orders from an appropriate government authority limiting commerce, travel, or group meetings due to COVID-19

You should ensure that all forms and policies are reviewed by your lawyer to ensure compliance with applicable laws. SHRM's permission is required for members and non-members to reproduce these samples in any other manner (e.g., in a book, or use for a commercial purpose). To request permission for specific items, click on the "reuse permissions" button on the page where you find the item.

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[irvinenewshq]

Workers within the Philippines can count on year-end bonus

The Division of Labour and Employment (DOLE) is about to concern an advisory to employers concerning the grant of Thirteenth-month pay for personal sector staff. “We’ll launch a labour advisory to information our employers within the cost of the Thirteenth-month pay this 12 months, for 2022. On the identical time, we’re additionally contacting our employers’ organisations for the proper cost of the Thirteenth-month pay,” stated Alvin Curada, director of the DOLE’s Bureau of Working Circumstances (BWC). He famous that for this 12 months, the computation for the Thirteenth-month pay could be primarily based on all the essential wage {that a} employee acquired from January 1 to December 31 this 12 months.  “It will likely be divided by 12. The full is the Thirteenth-month pay. That is 1/12 of the entire primary wage earned by the worker in a single calendar 12 months or this 12 months,” Curada stated.  Underneath Presidential Decree 851, which was signed by the late president Ferdinand E Marcos in 1975, staff ought to get or obtain their Thirteenth-month pay no later than December 24 yearly.  All rank-and-file staff of a personal firm are entitled to Thirteenth-month pay, supplied they’ve been employed for at the very least one month inside the calendar 12 months.  READ: Companies within the Philippines advised to pay Thirteenth month wages or face sanction Firms are required to report back to DOLE by its On-line Institution Report Kind not later than January 15, 2023, on the settlement of the Thirteenth-month pay.  Based mostly on BWC knowledge, it recorded a excessive compliance charge within the cost of Thirteenth-month pay at 97.1% in 2021, reported PNA. Originally published at Irvine News HQ

[soccernetghana]

Ghana FA to get US$1.5 million COVID-19 relief package from FIFA

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) will receive US$1 million as a relief package from football's world governing body FIFA as part of a US$ 1.5 billion being made available for the football community in wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

The Ghana FA will receive an additional grant of US$ 500,000 from FIFA specified mainly for women's football.

Also, Ghana FA will be able to apply for interest-free loans amounting to up to 35 per cent its audited annual revenues.

A minimum loan of US$ 500,000 and a maximum of US$ 5 million have been made available by the World's football governing body.

Following a FIFA Council meeting via video conference on Thursday, which unanimously approved a revised budget for the 2019-2022 cycle, the GFA, and other association will be eligible to apply for interest-free loans amounting to up to 35 per cent of their audited annual revenues.

The meeting also endorsed changes to the international match calendar as well as approved the COVID-19 Relief Plan and also selected Australia and New Zealand as joint hosts of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

FIFA COVID-19 RELIEF PLAN

The FIFA Council unanimously approved the FIFA COVID‑19 Relief Plan, which was designed by the FIFA administration in close cooperation with representatives of the confederations. Across its three stages, this global support plan will make available up to US$1.5 billion to assist the football community.

In the first two stages of the plan, FIFA provided for the immediate release of all FIFA Forward operational‑cost payments to member associations and, subsequently, for the opportunity to transform Forward development grants into COVID-19 operational relief funds -– with a minimum of 50 per cent of released funds to be allocated to women’s football.In stage three, approved by the FIFA Council further financial support will be provided through a system of grants and loans:

GRANTS: a universal solidarity grant of US$1 million will be made available to all member associations, and an additional grant of US$500,000 will be allocated specifically to women’s football. In addition, each confederation will receive a grant of US$ 2 million.

LOANS: member associations will be able to apply for interest-free loans amounting to up to 35 per cent of their audited annual revenues. In the interest of solidarity, a minimum loan of US$500,000 will be available and a maximum of US$5 million. In addition, each confederation will have access to a loan of up to US$4 million.

Both grants and loans can be directed by member associations to the wider football community in their respective territories, including clubs, players, leagues, or others that have been affected.

GOVERNANCE MODEL: to ensure effective oversight of the plan, there will be strict controls on the use of funds, audit requirements, as well as clear loan repayment conditions. A FIFA COVID-19 Relief Plan steering committee will also be established to supervise the administration of the scheme.

Olli Rehn, the deputy chairman of the FIFA Governance Committee, has been appointed to lead this committee. He is also the Governor of the Bank of Finland, a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, and a former Vice-President of the European Commission.

As a next step, the principles of the plan will be consolidated in a set of regulations to be put forward to the Bureau of the FIFA Council.

REVISED BUDGET

The members of the Council approved the 2021 annual budget and the revised budget for the 2019-2022 cycle, both of which were the result of a comprehensive assessment of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTERNATIONAL MATCH CALENDAR

As a result of an extensive consultation process with the confederations and stakeholders across the football landscape, the COVID-19 FIFA-Confederations Working Group agreed to put forward five proposals in relation to the Men’s International Match Calendar in the wake of the pandemic.

Below are the five proposals, which were unanimously approved by the FIFA Council:

● to move the intercontinental play-offs for the FIFA World Cup 2022 from March 2022 to June 2022;

● to postpone the September 2020 window for the AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and the OFC;

● to proceed with the September 2020 window as planned for CONMEBOL and UEFA, subject to continued monitoring of the situation;

● to extend the October 2020 and November 2020 windows by one day for UEFA in order to facilitate the playing of three games instead of the current two; and

● to extend the June 2021 window by seven days for the AFC, CAF, Concacaf and the OFC in order to facilitate the playing of four games instead of the current two.

The COVID-19 FIFA-Confederations Working Group and the stakeholders’ task force will continue their work of monitoring the situation in each confederation, discussing alternative solutions and, if required, putting forward any further proposals to the FIFA Council.

The FIFA Council also supported a pan-Arab tournament to be played in 2021: an invitational competition for men’s national teams that will be contested by Arab nations from Africa and Asia.

It will involve home-based players only and be played outside the International Match Calendar. The tournament, which will be held in Qatar from December 1-18, 2021, will be delivered by the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC and will allow the organisers to use facilities and run operations that are also planned for the subsequent FIFA World Cup 2022.

Furthermore, FIFA’s decision-making body approved the updated Regulations for the Olympic Football Tournaments Tokyo 2020, adapting them to the new dates of July 21 to August 7, 2021 and including the adoption of VAR technology.

There are no changes to the eligibility rules for players taking part in the men’s tournament (i.e. players born on or after January 1, 1997, with the exception of a maximum of three players per participating team).

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

● Following the establishment of a dedicated working group by the Football Stakeholders Committee, the work of which was also endorsed by the Players’ Status Committee, the Council was presented with a proposal to amend the FIFA Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes, particularly concerning the eligibility of players to play for national teams.

The amendments include, among others, the new provisions relating to the exceptions to the general prohibition on changing associations and the access to national team football for stateless players. The Council has recommended that the statutory changes be put forward for approval by the FIFA Congress.

● The new FIFA Anti-Doping Regulations -– in compliance with WADA’s recently approved World Anti-Doping Code -– were also approved by the Council and will come into force on January 1, 2021.

The next Council meeting is scheduled for September, ahead of the 70th FIFA Congress, which will be held on 18 September 2020. Both will be organised as virtual events held by videoconference.

source: https://ghanasoccernet.com/

[eureauwaternews]

EurEau newsletter - edition 18

EurEau news EurEau annual congress Our annual congress was held in Bilbao on 18-20 October. Our Spanish hosts surpassed themselves, finding a wonderful venue for the committee meetings and showing us the best that the Basque region has to offer. Thank you to all who participated in making the congress a huge success. The Thursday afternoon plenary session was on the implementation of the SDG’s. We welcomed Peter Koefoed Bjørnsen, Director of the UNEP-DHI Partnership in the Centre on Water and Environment, Marta Moren-Abat from the European Commission, and José Maria Villanueva del Casal, Technical Director at the CABB. EurEau meets members On 11 October, Oliver Loebel, EurEau Secretary General, met with a delegation of the Dutch members from Unie van Waterschappen, in Brussels in order to exchange on current priorities. EurEau president Bruno Tisserand and Oliver met a delegation of our Estonian member association, EVEL, in Tallinn on 25 October. The goal was to learn more about the Estonian water sector and to understand how EurEau can better respond to EVEL’s needs. They also met with the Latvian water association LWWWWA. EurEau out and about Oliver presented European circular economy legislation for water at Utilitalia’s Festival dell’Acqua in Bari on 10 October. EurEau President Bruno Tisserand spoke at the NBS2017 a flagship conference of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU. He presented the possibility for water services to sustainably manage rain water in cities through natural retention measures. Meeting - Pharmaceuticals in the Environment Michel Dantin and Peter Liese MEPs will co-host a European Parliament intergroup meeting on Pharmaceuticals in the Environment, on Wednesday 29 November 2017 between 16.30-18.30. To register, see here. More information is here. EU news Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive evaluation roadmap The European Commission published the WFD and the FD evaluation roadmap, available here. EurEau will submit its feedback by the 17 November deadline. The members of the JWG WFD will work on it. You can submit your own feedback by clicking here. A detailed public consultation will be launched in the first half of 2018. Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive evaluation roadmap The European Commission published the UWWTD evaluation roadmap, available here. EurEau will submit its feedback by the 9 November deadline. The members of the EurEau Waste Water committee is working on it. You can submit your own feedback by clicking here. DG SANTE plan on chlorate DG SANTE and national competent authorities are working on a plan to reduce the dietary risks related to chlorate in food and drinking water and to resolve the systemic non-compliance with the pesticides MRLs. This should be on the agenda of the biocides Competent Authorities meeting on 24 November, where our expert Eric Chauveheid will attend on behalf of EurEau.   Commission Work Programme 2018 The CWP2018 is available here. Under ‘new initiatives’ the one ‘Delivering on the Circular Economy Action Plan’ includes a strategy on plastics use, reuse and recycling (non-legislative, Q4 2017); a proposal for a Regulation on minimum quality requirements for reused water (legislative, incl. impact assessment, Art. 192 TFEU, Q4 2017); a REFIT revision of the Drinking Water Directive (legislative, incl. impact assessment, Art. 192 TFEU, Q4 2017); an initiative to address legal, technical or practical bottlenecks at the interface of chemical, product and waste legislation (non-legislative, Q4 2017); and a monitoring framework for the circular economy (non-legislative, Q4 2017).     Parliament objects to endocrine disrupting chemicals definition On Wednesday 4 October the European Parliament followed the opinion of the Environment committee to object to the criteria proposed by the European Commission for the identification of endocrine disrupting chemicals under the Plant Protection Product Regulation. The European Commission will have to come back with another proposal in the coming month. More… Glyphosate: MEPs ask for a full ban by end 2022 Parliament backed a full ban on glyphosate-based herbicides by December 2022 and immediate restrictions on the use of the substance, on 24 November 2017. This resolution is non-biding, its objective is to put pressure on the European Commission and the Council. Member States must adopt their position by a qualified majority but remain deeply divided. Greenpeace believes that ten countries would vote against a ten-year renewal of the glyphosate licence (A, B, F, GR, HR, IT, L, MT, S, SI), while two countries would abstain (D, PT). Sixteen countries may vote in favour (BG, CY, CZ, DK, E, EE, FIN, H, IRL, LT, LV, NL, PL, RO, SK, UK). If not renewed, the licence expires in December 2017. Water reuse The European Commission finalised the impact assessment of the proposal for an EU instrument on water reuse and submitted it to the Regular Scrutiny Board of the Commission on 25 October 2017. The board requested to improve the impact assessment for a potential EU level instrument on water reuse. The European Commission is aiming at finalising this revision very soon and will give more details at the Ad-hoc Task group meeting in Cyprus on 6-7 November. Iacovos Papaiacovou, our Cypriot GA member, will replace Pier Paolo Abis for this meeting to convey the EurEau message and see if the proposal can still be presented before the end of the year as expected. Water JPI The 2017 Water JPI call is just published: here.   Standing of NGO´s in administrative proceedings (Case c-664/15) The Supreme Administrative Court in Austria asks for guidance on the standing of an environmental organisation in seeking access to justice. The questions arise in the context of an application for a permit to abstract water from a river for the purposes of producing snow for a ski resort.   The Advocate General Sharpston at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said in this preliminary ruling that  Non-Government-Associations (NGO) have the right of access to administrative or judicial procedures. The legal basis for this right was Art. 4 WFD in connection with the Aarhus Convention. If the ECJ follows this opinion – it does so very often –every water service provider asking for a new or renewed permit to use water (abstraction or discharge) will face NGO´s in the administrative or judicial procedure. We await how the ECJ will decide. HELCOM consultation - ‘State of the Baltic Sea’ HELCOM are looking for your overall views of their report and its presentation. You can also provide comments on the reports’ sub-chapters. The consultation is open from 1 October 2017 – 31 December 2017. You can close the survey window at any time – your responses will be saved, and you can continue later by clicking the ‘Begin Survey’ button again. The response will be sent to the HELCOM Secretariat once you click ‘Done’ on the last page. The survey responses are not confidential. Background information on the report and the regional consultation, as well as a list of invited organisations, is here. Survey: here. Fertiliser Regulation On 24 October, the European Parliament voted the amendments on the Fertiliser Regulation as a basis for the EP position in the trialogue discussion. All the IMCO amendments that EurEau supported were voted in plenary. Read more here (article from EurActiv features EurEau secretariat’s Bertrand Vallet). Member States will now approve their position in the Council and enter into discussions with the European Parliament to find a compromise on diverging positions. EurEau member news Hello and goodbye Stefan Bostrom from Sweden attended his last EurEau meeting after over 20 years in the family. We all send Stefan our thanks and appreciation for his important contributions down the years and wish him all the best for his retirement. Giordano Colarullo (IT) and Stuart Colville (UK) were appointed to the EurEau Executive Committee and the General Assembly at the last General Assembly meeting. EurEau communications EurEau in the media Oliver published articles in the Vewin’s Waterspiegel and DVGW’s energy|wasser|praxis in October. You can see a list of events happening around Europe here. The following are a selection. If you have events happening in your country, let us know, especially if you would like to get the EurEau perspective by having us represented at it! Important dates 23-24 November: Persistent and Mobile Organic Chemicals in the Water Cycle: Linking science, technology and regulation to protect drinking water quality, in Leipzig, Germany Your colleagues can subscribe to this newsletter by emailing Caroline. You can keep up with all the EurEau news via our website, our blog on the EU and on our Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter feeds. For more events, visit our calendar.

[footballghana]

GFA set to get $1.5m from FIFA as part of COVID-19 relief plan

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) is to receive $1 million from football's world governing body FIFA as part of a $1.5 billion being made available for the football community as part of a COVID-19 relief plan.

Ghana, like other FIFA member associations, will receive an additional grant of $500,000 from the world body specifically for women's football.

Following a FIFA Council meeting via video conference on Thursday, which unanimously approved a revised budget for the 2019-2022 cycle, the GFA, and other association will be eligible to apply for interest-free loans amounting to up to 35 per cent of their audited annual revenues.

The meeting also endorsed changes to the international match calendar as well as approved the COVID-19 Relief Plan and also selected Australia and New Zealand as joint hosts of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

FIFA COVID-19 Relief Plan

The FIFA Council unanimously approved the FIFA COVID‑19 Relief Plan, which was designed by the FIFA administration in close cooperation with representatives of the confederations. Across its three stages, this global support plan will make available up to $1.5 billion to assist the football community.

In the first two stages of the plan, FIFA provided for the immediate release of all FIFA Forward operational‑cost payments to member associations and, subsequently, for the opportunity to transform Forward development grants into COVID-19 operational relief funds -– with a minimum of 50 per cent of released funds to be allocated to women’s football.

In stage three, approved by the FIFA Council further financial support will be provided through a system of grants and loans:

Grants: a universal solidarity grant of $1 million will be made available to all member associations, and an additional grant of $500,000 will be allocated specifically to women’s football. In addition, each confederation will receive a grant of $2 million.

Loans: member associations will be able to apply for interest-free loans amounting to up to 35 per cent of their audited annual revenues. In the interest of solidarity, a minimum loan of $500,000 will be available and a maximum of $5 million. In addition, each confederation will have access to a loan of up to $4 million.

Both grants and loans can be directed by member associations to the wider football community in their respective territories, including clubs, players, leagues, or others that have been affected.

Governance model: to ensure effective oversight of the plan, there will be strict controls on the use of funds, audit requirements, as well as clear loan repayment conditions. A FIFA COVID-19 Relief Plan steering committee will also be established to supervise the administration of the scheme.

Olli Rehn, the deputy chairman of the FIFA Governance Committee, has been appointed to lead this committee. He is also the Governor of the Bank of Finland, a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, and a former Vice-President of the European Commission.

As a next step, the principles of the plan will be consolidated in a set of regulations to be put forward to the Bureau of the FIFA Council.

Revised budget

The members of the Council approved the 2021 annual budget and the revised budget for the 2019-2022 cycle, both of which were the result of a comprehensive assessment of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

International Match Calendar

As a result of an extensive consultation process with the confederations and stakeholders across the football landscape, the COVID-19 FIFA-Confederations Working Group agreed to put forward five proposals in relation to the Men’s International Match Calendar in the wake of the pandemic.

Below are the five proposals, which were unanimously approved by the FIFA Council:

o to move the intercontinental play-offs for the FIFA World Cup 2022 from March 2022 to June 2022;

o to postpone the September 2020 window for the AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and the OFC;

o to proceed with the September 2020 window as planned for CONMEBOL and UEFA, subject to continued monitoring of the situation;

o to extend the October 2020 and November 2020 windows by one day for UEFA in order to facilitate the playing of three games instead of the current two; and

o to extend the June 2021 window by seven days for the AFC, CAF, Concacaf and the OFC in order to facilitate the playing of four games instead of the current two.

The COVID-19 FIFA-Confederations Working Group and the stakeholders’ task force will continue their work of monitoring the situation in each confederation, discussing alternative solutions and, if required, putting forward any further proposals to the FIFA Council.

The FIFA Council also supported a pan-Arab tournament to be played in 2021: an invitational competition for men’s national teams that will be contested by Arab nations from Africa and Asia.

It will involve home-based players only and be played outside the International Match Calendar. The tournament, which will be held in Qatar from December 1-18, 2021, will be delivered by the FIFA

World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC and will allow the organisers to use facilities and run operations that are also planned for the subsequent FIFA World Cup 2022.

Furthermore, FIFA’s decision-making body approved the updated Regulations for the Olympic Football Tournaments Tokyo 2020, adapting them to the new dates of July 21 to August 7, 2021 and including the adoption of VAR technology.

There are no changes to the eligibility rules for players taking part in the men’s tournament (i.e. players born on or after January 1, 1997, with the exception of a maximum of three players per participating team).

Regulatory framework

o Following the establishment of a dedicated working group by the Football Stakeholders Committee, the work of which was also endorsed by the Players’ Status Committee, the Council was presented with a proposal to amend the FIFA Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes, particularly concerning the eligibility of players to play for national teams.

The amendments include, among others, the new provisions relating to the exceptions to the general prohibition on changing associations and the access to national team football for stateless players. The Council has recommended that the statutory changes be put forward for approval by the FIFA Congress.

o The new FIFA Anti-Doping Regulations -– in compliance with WADA’s recently approved World Anti-Doping Code -– were also approved by the Council and will come into force on January 1, 2021.

The next Council meeting is scheduled for September, ahead of the 70th FIFA Congress, which will be held on 18 September 2020.

Both will be organised as virtual events held by videoconference rence.

Source: graphic.com.gh

source: https://footballghana.com/