Governing Bodies
IOC CONFIRM REVISED QUALIFICATION DEADLINE FOR TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS
BY LIAM MORGAN
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has revised the qualification deadline for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics after the Games were postponed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In its qualification system principles, updated following confirmation of the new dates for the Games and a copy of which has been seen by insidethegames, the IOC said the qualification period would end on June 29, 2021.
The date is exactly a week before the final entry deadline of July 5, 18 days before the Olympics are due to open on July 23.
In a separate letter to National Olympic Committees, the IOC said it hoped to finalise the adapted qualification system later this month.
“We understand that at this time these are unlikely to include the full details on the dates and locations of the specified events, recognising that these will follow later as the impacts of COVID-19 and its related restrictions become clearer,” the IOC said in the letter.
“We aim to finalise the adapted qualification systems by mid-April, with the details on specific events to follow when available.”
The IOC has also told International Federations to use their original qualification systems where possible after numerous events had been cancelled or postponed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“This principle encourages IFs to follow a like-for-like approach by replacing those lost opportunities that were allocating quotas with the same number of events,” the IOC added.
Sports which use world rankings to determine their Olympic qualifiers – including badminton, weightlifting and judo – are facing a tougher challenge compared with the other federations.
The IOC said Federations should “retain full discretion to define the new ranking deadline and pathway”, but warned a balance “needs to be found between protecting those athletes who were close to qualifying based on the previous 2020 deadlines, while also ensuring the participation of the best athletes at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 by allowing the top performers of the 2021 season to qualify”.
Confirmation of the new deadline and further clarification on the qualification process is set to alleviate uncertainty among athletes following the decision to delay the Games by a year.
Fifty-seven per cent of the 11,000 athletes had qualified for Tokyo 2020 before the Games were postponed.
The IOC has guaranteed athletes who had secured a spot at the Games will keep their places at the rescheduled event.
Qualification for Tokyo 2020 had already been completed in sports including equestrian, hockey and volleyball.
Others, such as weightlifting, judo and skateboarding, have not had any confirmed qualifiers as they use world rankings to determine athletes at the Games.
Less than 20 per cent of athletes have qualified in some sports on the programme.
-insidethegames
The president of the Confédération of African Football, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, has announced five new CAF Vice Presidents. They are:
- CAF First Vice President: Mr Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco)
- CAF Second Vice President: Mr Kurt Okraku (Ghana)
- CAF Third Vice President: Mr Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
- CAF Fourth Vice President: Ms Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- CAF Fifth Vice President: Mr Feizal Sidat (Mozambique)
In addition, the CAF President has co-opted Yacine Idriss Diallo, President of Fédération Ivoirienne de football, into the CAF Executive Committee.
The CAF Executive Committee also approved the names to fill vacant positions on several CAF Committees.
Organising Committee for the African Nations Championship (CHAN)
- President: Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
CAF Technical and Development Committee
- President: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- Vice President: Malouche Belhassen (Tunisia)
CAF Medical Committee:
- President: Dr. Mohammed Bouya (Mauritania)
- Vice President: Dr. Thulani Ngwenya (South Africa)
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Governing Bodies
Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council
Laurels on the courts and now glory in the boardroom sums up the mark that badminton is making in Nigeria.
The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has been elected as a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The election took place during the BWF Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Xiamen, China.
Orbih emerged victorious over top contenders from other African countries.
He will join Cameroon’s Odette Assembe Engoulou on the council, while Chipo Zumburani (Zimbabwe) and Hadia ElSaid (Egypt) missed out.
An elated Orbih expressed his gratitude to fellow badminton presidents across the globe for their trust and support.
He said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by my peers across the badminton world.
“I look forward to quality representation, driving development initiatives, and strengthening badminton’s global reach over the next four years.”
Orbih also acknowledged the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the National Sports Commission (NSC), which he said played a significant role in his successful bid.
“The Chairman and the Director General of the NSC monitored the entire process. I’m grateful for their involvement and confident Nigeria will benefit from this,” he stated.
He further appreciated the BFN board members and the Nigerian badminton community for their prayers and continued belief in his leadership.
“From the day I declared my intentions, the board members of BFN have been supportive, and I promise not to disappoint them,” Orbih concluded.
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A former member of the FIFA Council, Mamoutou Toure, has been released from jail in Mali after almost two years in detention for alleged corruption, Malian media reports said on Wednesday.
Toure, president of the Malian Football Federation since 2019, was released after 622 days in prison on Tuesday.
He served on the FIFA Council, world football’s all-powerful decision-making body, for four years until last month when he lost his seat after failing to contest new elections.
The 67-year-old was arrested in August 2023 on allegations of embezzling $28 million of public funds but was granted a provisional release order by the Malian courts, reports said.
He was accused of misconduct during his time as the National Assembly’s financial and administrative director from 2013-2019.
Toure denied all charges and, during his time in jail, was last August re-elected as Malian Football Federation president for a second consecutive term, with his supporters claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy fuelled by detractors.
While in jail, he received a letter of support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, as of last month, Toure is no longer a member of the FIFA Council or the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee.
-Reuters
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