Governing Bodies
TOKYO 2020 POSTPONEMENT SHOOTS UP GAMES’ COSTS
The decision to delay the Tokyo 2020 Olympics until next year means taxpayers and sponsors likely will have to fork over billions of dollars more just as the global economy caves in during the coronavirus pandemic.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee Chairman Thomas Bach agreed on an unprecedented postponement of the event for about a year as the world grapples with the coronavirus infection.
It is the first time the games have been delayed since they began in the 19th century.
Now Abe’s administration, along with organisers and the Tokyo local government, have to start figuring out the costs associated with that decision – and who’s going to pay them.
“When you have to change your plans in projects like this, it’s like turning a supertanker around, and it’s really expensive,” said Bent Flyvbjerg, a professor at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School who wrote a study of Olympic cost overruns.
“The only thing you can do at this stage is keep paying the bills.”
Japan’s organising committee said in December the event would cost 1.35 trillion yen (S$17 billion), the bulk of which would be covered by themselves and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
The Nikkei newspaper, citing the group, said Wednesday the delay would trigger about 300 billion yen in additional costs.
A professor at Kansai University, Katsuhiro Miyamoto, recently published an estimate of 422 billion yen in extra costs for a one-year postponement, with another 218 billion-yen hit to the economy on top of that, excluding any effects from the pandemic.
Japan’s organising committee will be seeking more cash from sponsors and the government, with individual sports associations likely to face financial difficulties, the body’s president, Yasuhiro Yamashita, said Wednesday.
The amount of funding needed is not known yet, he said.
Much of the extra costs likely will accrue from having to retain staff, who otherwise would have been let go once the games ended, Flyvbjerg said. Mitigating these outlays by putting workers on other projects likely will be hard, given the current global economic stagnation.
“The world is not the same as it used to be, so who needs more people right now?” Flyvbjerg said.
Olympic Facilities Maintaining venues that suddenly will be empty during the July-September schedule for the Olympics and Paralympics also will be a burden. Miyamoto estimated that extra care for the 45 venues will cost about 22 billion yen.
Some Olympic facilities already are booked for other events next summer, potentially forcing organizers to pay for alternatives. And sports federations may need to hold extra competitions to select representatives for the 2021 games.
Not least of the concerns is the fate of the athletes’ village, where many apartments already were sold to people expecting to occupy them in 2023.
The Covid-19 outbreak also introduces a huge element of doubt in planning for next year. Abe bills the event as one to mark humanity’s victory over the virus, yet no one knows whether the pandemic will be under control by then.
With Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike calling on the capital’s residents to stay at home this weekend in a bid to slow infections, further delays cannot be ruled out, nor can the eventual abandonment of the effort.
Flyvbjerg’s research shows that Olympic costs always outstrip estimates, with the most extreme example being Montreal in 1976, which had a 760 per cent overrun.
“If it happened, God forbid, that the games got cancelled altogether, it would be a huge waste of money,” he said.
– BLOOMBERG
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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The supporters of Vancouver Whitecaps, a professional football (soccer) club in Canada, have staged a protest outside the FIFA Congress on Thursday, voicing fears that the Major League Soccer club could be relocated as uncertainty deepens over its ownership and long-term future.
The club is one of Canada’s most historic football institutions and has long been a central part of Vancouver’s sporting identity.
Around 100 fans gathered as delegates arrived for the annual FIFA meeting in Vancouver, chanting, singing and waving club flags in a show of solidarity. The demonstration comes just days after Vancouver Whitecaps FC revealed difficulties in securing a buyer willing to keep the club in the city.
The Whitecaps disclosed earlier this week that “stadium economics, venue access and revenue limitations” have complicated efforts to sell the club, despite a 16-month search for new ownership.
Season ticket holder Derek Hawksworth said supporters felt compelled to act amid growing fears of relocation.
“I wanted to come down given the threat of the team possibly moving,” he said. “It’s a rich history with the Whitecaps in North America… we want Vancouver to stay and not relocate. The history is here, and we want to continue with that history moving forward.”
The Vancouver Whitecaps are a professional football (soccer) club based in Vancouver, Canada. They currently compete in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-tier league in the United States and Canada.
Concerns were heightened by reports that cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix are leading contenders should the club relocate.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has urged intervention, calling on the provincial government — which owns BC Place — to negotiate a “bridge deal” that would allow the team to remain while plans for a new stadium are explored. The club’s current lease at BC Place expires at the end of the year.
Despite the off-field uncertainty, the Whitecaps have been one of the standout teams this MLS season. They currently sit second in the Western Conference with 24 points from nine matches, just three points behind the San Jose Earthquakes.
For supporters, however, performances on the pitch offer little comfort as the future of their club hangs in the balance — a situation they hope global football leaders gathering in Vancouver will not ignore.
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