Olympics
BREAKDANCING MAY BECOME OLYMPIC SPORTS
Breakdancing, sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing have been touted as the favourites to be included as additional sports on the Olympic Games programme for Paris 2024.
French radio station France Info has claimed a final decision is expected to be made by organisers on Thursday (February 21).
This has reportedly been denied by Paris 2024.
Paris 2024 are due to submit their recommendations for new sports before the International Olympic Committee Executive Board is due to meet in Lausanne from March 26 to 28.
The IOC Session in June will then offer provisional approval before the new additions are officially confirmed by the Executive Board in December 2020.
Sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing were all included on the Tokyo 2020 programme as additional sports.
The trio are hoping to remain on the programme, along with baseball/softball and karate, which were also added by Japanese organisers.
Breakdancing’s prospects are believed to have been boosted by the sport’s appearance at the last year’s Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.
The Games in Argentina’s capital city marked breakdancing’s debut at an Olympic competition.
A proposal for breakdancing’s inclusion was put forward by the French Dance Sport Federation led by Charles Ferreira.
Breakdancing’s potential inclusion has earned criticism in some quarters, however, with a debate over who represents the sport emerging.
The World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF) were responsible for overseeing the sport’s inclusion at Buenos Aires 2018.
Erwin Mahroug, President of breakdancing media company bboyworld, has claimed the community have not been involved in any attempts to include it at Paris 2024.
The company, which claim they have over five million subscribers, helped in the selection of breakdancers at Buenos Aires 2018.
Mahroug wrote that the “breakin community was quite angry on how the Youth Olympic Games unfolded and voiced their negative opinion throughout various global media platforms”, adding that a lobbyist and owner of an investment company have been behind the effort.
“These two individuals have projected to the WDSF and the IOC that they are the voice of the breakin community,” Mahroug wrote.
“However, this is not the case.
“Up until the leak of the news that the IOC will be voting on whether breakin will be included in the 2024 Games, the breakin community has been in the dark.
“We will not engage, again, to support these two individuals.”
Mahroug claimed the break dancing community do not have a vote within any national governing body or the WDSF, while they claim to have no ability to present to the IOC.
A request to meet with the IOC to discuss the potential inclusion was suggested by Mahroug.
Other calls have been made for the breakdancing to potentially be included at 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, rather than having a potential debut in Paris.
The dispute over who represents breakdancing appears reminiscent of the fractious debate over skateboarding prior to its inclusion on the Tokyo 2020 programme.
The International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS) led skateboarding’s bid for inclusion, despite the International Skateboarding Federation (ISF) and the World Skateboarding Federation claiming to run the sport.
FIRS and ISF later merged to form World Skate, who are overseeing the sport’s debut at Tokyo 2020.
Squash is among the sports to have sought inclusion at Paris 2024.
Squash has campaigned for Olympic inclusion for some time, having been rejected for London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Other sports to have already launched campaigns for inclusion include snooker, chess and the electric motorcycling format Trial-E.
- INSIDETHEGAMES.BIZ
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, the Super Falcons, will begin their campaign for a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games from the second round of the African qualifiers after being granted a bye in the opening stage.
The draw, conducted on Wednesday in Cairo by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), placed Nigeria among 29 higher-ranked teams exempted from the first round of the series.
The Super Falcons will take on the winner of the first-round clash between South Sudan and Comoros in their opening fixture of the qualifiers.
A total of 35 nations are competing for just two available slots allocated to Africa for the women’s football tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, underlining the intensity and high stakes of the qualification process.
The qualifiers will be contested over five knockout rounds on a home-and-away basis, leaving little room for error as teams battle for continental representation on the global stage.
The first round involves the six lowest-ranked teams—Sudan, Mauritius, Djibouti, South Sudan, Madagascar and Comoros—based on the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings. Winners from this stage will advance to face each other again before the 29 seeded teams, including Nigeria, enter the fray.
Nigeria will be aiming to consolidate their status among Africa’s elite women’s football nations, having qualified for the most recent Olympic tournament alongside Zambia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Although the Super Falcons boast a notable Olympic pedigree, having made their debut at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and subsequently appearing at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Paris 2024, qualification has not always been easy.
The 16-year gap between their last two participations in Beijing 2008 and Paris 2024 illustrates the tough time they have endured in the qualifying series.
With the women’s football event at Los Angeles 2028 set to feature 16 teams—including hosts the United States—Nigeria’s path to qualification is expected to be demanding.
Attention will now shift to the preliminary encounter between South Sudan and Comoros, as Nigeria’s technical crew intensify preparations ahead of their second-round entry point.
For the Super Falcons, the mission is clear: successfully navigate a rigorous qualifying campaign and secure a return to the Olympic stage in 2028.
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Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, the Super Falcons, will on Wednesday discover their route to the football event of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles when the Confederation of African Football conducts the official draw in Cairo.
The draw ceremony, scheduled for April 29 at CAF headquarters in Egypt, will set in motion Africa’s qualifying campaign for the women’s football tournament of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
A total of 35 countries, including Nigeria, will participate in the race for just two tickets allocated to Africa for the Olympic football event, which will take place from July 11 to 29, 2028.
Alongside Nigeria, other contenders include continental heavyweights such as South Africa, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Zambia, as well as a wide range of emerging nations from across the continent.
The full list of participating teams also features Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
According to CAF, the qualification series will be played over five rounds, gradually narrowing the field to the two teams that will fly Africa’s flag at the Olympics in the United States.
For Nigeria, Africa’s most successful women’s national team, the qualifiers present another opportunity to reaffirm their continental dominance and secure a return to the Olympic stage after recent mixed fortunes in global competitions.
The Super Falcons, nine-time African champions, are expected to be among the top seeds when the draw is conducted, a factor that could influence their early-round opponents.
Wednesday’s ceremony in Cairo will therefore provide clarity on the fixtures, timelines and potential hurdles facing Nigeria and other contenders as the road to Los Angeles officially begins.
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By Kunle Solaja.
Morocco’s senior women’s national team will on Wednesday learn their opponents and qualification pathway to the football event of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games when the Confederation of African Football stages the official draw in Cairo.
The draw, billed for April 29 at CAF headquarters in Egypt, marks the starting point of Africa’s qualifying campaign, with 35 nations set to battle for just two coveted Olympic slots.
For Morocco, the exercise represents another significant step in the country’s rapidly rising profile in women’s football. The Atlas Lionesses, who have emerged as one of Africa’s most improved sides in recent years, will be aiming to secure a historic qualification for the Olympic Games.
The North Africans will face stiff competition from traditional powerhouses such as Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon and Ghana, alongside other ambitious sides including Zambia and Senegal.
Also in the race are Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
CAF confirmed that the qualifiers will unfold across five rounds, with the field gradually trimmed down until only two teams remain to represent Africa at the Olympics in the United States from July 11 to 29, 2028.
Morocco are expected to be among the seeded teams for the early rounds, a reflection of their recent performances on the continental stage, including their strong showing at recent Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
Wednesday’s draw in Cairo will therefore be crucial in determining Morocco’s early matchups and the potential obstacles on their path, as they seek to translate recent progress into a maiden appearance at the Olympic Games.
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