Governing Bodies
TOKYO 2020 PRESIDENT PRAYING FOR CORONAVIRUS TO “VANISH” BEFORE OLYMPICS
BY LIAM MORGAN.
Tokyo 2020 President Yoshirō Mori has admitted he is praying for the coronavirus to “vanish” amid lingering concerns over the impact of the outbreak on this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Organisers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have
repeatedly insisted the virus, which has so far killed 2,362 and infected
around 78,000 worldwide, will not force the Games to be cancelled or postponed.
But the outbreak has raised concern for Tokyo 2020 in the build-up to the event, with Japan recently emerging as one of the riskiest places for the spread of the virus.
There have been 110 confirmed cases of the virus, known as COVID-19, in Japan, although 634 others have been infected on a cruise ship which has been quarantined in Yokohama since February 3.
Aside from the two deaths resulting from the Diamond Princess cruise ship, one person has died from the virus in the Olympic and Paralympic host nation.
“I pray to God every day that the coronavirus will just vanish,” Mori said in an interview with the Sponichi Annex newspaper.
Mori, a former Japanese Prime Minister, also claimed he plans to “to hold out to the end without wearing a mask”, despite the outbreak.
He has remained defiant in the wake of the crisis and last week blasted what he claimed were “irresponsible” rumours surrounding whether the Games would take place as planned.
Japan’s Government under current Prime Minister Shinzō Abe has been criticised for its response to the virus and fears have grown in recent weeks after the number of infections doubled.
The Government has been accused of being slow to react by failing to bar visitors from China quickly enough, while Abe has come under fire for being too lax in its quarantine of the cruise ship.
John Coates, chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for Tokyo 2020, claimed the World Health Organization had told the Commission there was “no case” for cancelling or postponing the Games.
Dozens of events due to be held in China and other countries in the region have been impacted by the virus, however.
The World Indoor Athletics Championships, the Formula One Grand Prix and Olympic qualifiers in sports including football are among the events to have been postponed, cancelled or moved outside of China, where the virus originated.
-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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