Governing Bodies
PARADE OF ATHLETES PEGGED AT SIX PER TEAM FOR TOKYO 2020 OPENING CEREMONY
A maximum of six officials per national delegation will be allowed to participate in the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony of the postponed Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Wednesday (Nov 18).
However, the IOC’s Tokyo Olympic Games Coordination Commission chairman John Coates, who attended a project review with Games organisers, insisted that the number of athletes at the ceremony would not be cut.
“We don’t want to change the tradition that all athletes have the opportunity to parade at the opening ceremony,” the Australian, who is also an IOC vice-president, told reporters.
Key IOC officials, including Coates and president Thomas Bach, had been in the Japanese capital earlier this week as a show of support for the organisers as they try to arrange the Games despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following the decision in March to postpone the Games, the Olympics are now due to begin on July 23, 2021.
The opening ceremony at an Olympics is typically a much-awaited spectacle and athletes’ places are usually filled by officials from their national Olympic committees if they choose to focus on their preparations for their competitions. But this will not happen next year.
“The IOC executive board has already discussed this and we won’t allow it this time,” Coates added, noting that doing so “will increase the problem at the ceremony”.
“We want to see the athletes from all 206 delegations and the refugee team in the opening ceremony … The number of officials is limited to six.”
Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori, however, was less enthusiastic about the possibility of seeing all participating athletes march into the Olympic Stadium, although he admitted that the parade in the opening ceremony was their “prerogative” and “no one can deprive them of their right”.
“We have to have a secure and safe Games,” he said, adding that people need to make some “sacrifice”.
Mori said that it is still too early to make decisions because it might be not a problem to worry about.
“Maybe we should ask the opinions of the athletes,” the former Japanese Prime Minister said. “Are they really eager to participate in the parade? Maybe they want to win the gold medals. Athletes may have different ideals. We should know their true feeling.”
-Xinhua, Reuters
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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