Governing Bodies
CORONAVIRUS FEARS STOP ANTI-DOPING TESTING IN CHINA
BY ALI IVESON
The Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) has called a temporary halt to testing because of the coronavirus outbreak – less that six months out from this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Given the proximity to the Games, the International Testing Agency (ITA) has warned that it is “indeed likely that this will have an impact on the testing missions in China and solutions will have to be found,” reported Agence France-Presse. (AFP)
CHINADA “will gradually resume testing as soon as the situation improves,” and the ITA added that “private providers” could be used to conduct tests.
“The situation is one of caution so as not to endanger athletes or test officials and while recognising the importance of anti-doping activities, the priorities are to maintain public health for all,” it said.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is aware
of the situation and monitoring it.
“We are assisting CHINADA as it implements a plan that will maintain the integrity of the anti-doping program in China,” a WADA spokesman told AFP.
The zika virus and SARS outbreak mean that this is “not the first time that such an outbreak has occurred,” WADA added.
It is up to agencies to “ensure that the system is maintained while also operating in line with directives from health, law enforcement and border protection authorities”.
There have now been more than 20,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in China, with the death toll in the country now up to 425.
The virus has spread to more than 20 other countries and the World Health Organization has declared a global emergency, but said today that it does not yet constitute a pandemic.
Dozens of sporting events due to be held in China have either been cancelled or moved as a result of the crisis.
The most high-profile is the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, scheduled for March of this year but now postponed until 2021.
China won 70 Olympic medals – 26 of them gold – at Rio 2016 to finish third the medals table.
It left Brazil with a total of 239 Paralympic medals – 107 of them gold – and topped the medals table.
The biggest anti-doping controversy surrounding a Chinese athlete at present is that of Sun Yang, who faces up to an eight-year ban after one of his entourage smashed a blood vial with a hammer during an attempted drugs test.
WADA appealed an International Swimming Federation decision to only issue him with a warning and the case is in the hands of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
-insidethegames
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria is set to host the 48th Ordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), marking the third time the country will stage the continent’s top football gathering.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the sidelines of the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, approved Nigeria’s proposal to host the event.
The approval followed a meeting between President Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe, attended by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, former NFF President and Special Adviser to the CAF President Amaju Melvin Pinnick, as well as CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
Sports Villages Square affirms that Nigeria previously hosted the CAF Congress at the National Theatre in Lagos in March 1980 and again in February 2009, when the late CAF President Issa Hayatou secured another four-year term in office.
In addition to this year’s 48th Ordinary General Assembly, scheduled for October, Nigeria also secured the hosting rights of the CAF Awards ceremony. The annual awards gala, which celebrates Africa’s top football performers, has been staged in Morocco over the past three years.
Nigeria had earlier hosted the CAF Awards when telecom firm, Globacom, was the headline sponsor. This year’s event will be the seventh to be held in Nigeria after those of 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
The CAF Ordinary General Assembly traditionally attracts key football stakeholders from across the continent, including presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of the six zonal unions and senior football administrators.
The CAF Awards ceremony is regarded as one of African football’s flagship events, honouring outstanding players, coaches, clubs and officials in a glamorous setting that showcases the continent’s football excellence.
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FIFA’s independent Ethics Committee has banned former Guyana Football Federation (GFF) General Secretary Ian Alves from all football-related activities for five years after finding he sexually harassed female staff members.
FIFA also fined Alves 20,000 Swiss francs ($22,000) after determining that he had breached provisions of the FIFA Code of Ethics relating to the protection of physical and mental integrity, abuse of position and general duties.
“FIFA has a strict stance against all forms of abuse in football,” the organisation said on Monday.
The decision followed a review of written statements from the victims, documents provided by the GFF, submissions from Alves, and other evidence gathered during the investigation.
Alves stepped down from his position in 2024.
The ban came into force on Monday, when the terms of the decision were notified to Alves, and the full grounds for the ruling will be communicated within 60 days in accordance with the Code of Ethics, FIFA added.
The GFF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Alves could not immediately be reached for comment.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that he planned to seek re-election for a fourth term in a bid to continue to lead the governing body of world soccer.
Infantino confirmed he would run for the 2027–2031 term in the closing moments of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, which comes less than two months before the start of the World Cup.
The election will be held on March 18 in Morocco, which is set to co-host the 2030 World Cup.
Infantino said he was “honoured and humbled” to have the chance to run for a fourth term.
The Italian-Swiss took office in 2016, replacing Sepp Blatter, and was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023.
Infantino has pushed for the expansion of FIFA competitions during his tenure, with this year’s World Cup in North America the first to feature 48 teams, while the women’s tournament in 2023 has been expanded to 32 teams.
Infantino’s tenure has also drawn some criticism over issues such as high World Cup ticket prices and the decision to award the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Cup draw in December.
Earlier this month, the council of South American football’s governing body (CONMEBOL) said in a statement it would unanimously support the 56-year-old if he decided to seek another term.
-Reuters
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