Governing Bodies
TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES NOT CERTAIN
A high-profile member of the Olympic movement has cast doubt on whether the rescheduled Tokyo Games will proceed in the summer.
The BBC has reported Canadian Dick Pound, 78, as saying: “I can’t be certain because the ongoing elephant in the room would be the surges in the virus.”
His comments come on the back of Games host Japan declaring a limited state of emergency in the capital, Tokyo, and three neighbouring prefectures on Thursday (Jan 7) to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The Japanese government said the one-month emergency would run from Friday to Feb 7 in Tokyo and the Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures, covering about 30 per cent of the country’s population.
The measure comes just over six months before the virus-postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics are due to open, and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga this week insisted he was still committed to holding the Games as “proof of mankind’s victory over the virus”.
But the emergency is likely to harden public opinion, with a majority already opposed to holding the quadrennial Games this year even before the third wave worsened.
Japan has yet to approve a coronavirus vaccine, with Mr Suga saying he hopes the first jabs can begin in late February.
The situation around the rest of the world is no better, with much of Europe and the United States also in the grip of a second or third wave of the virus.
The US counted a record number of daily coronavirus deaths on Thursday at nearly 4,000, during which the country notched 265,246 new infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
On Wednesday, the day England went into a lockdown, Britain recorded 62,322 new coronavirus infections and 1,041 deaths.
The same day, Portugal – a nation of just 10 million people – reported 10,000 new cases while Ireland closed its schools in a bid to bring its own infection rates under control.
There are also two variations of Covid-19 steadily making their way around the world. The British strain and another which emerged in South Africa are both believed to be more infectious versions of the virus.
The Games, originally set to take place last year, have been postponed till July 23 to Aug 8.
Pound, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) longest-serving member, is one of the Olympic movement’s most vocal officials. A former chief of the World Anti-Doping Agency, he was one of the first IOC members to indicate early last year that the Tokyo Olympics were in doubt because of the pandemic.
That eventually came to pass with the IOC and the Japanese government jointly announcing that in March that the Games would be delayed by a year.
On Thursday, Pound told Sky News that “the most realistic way of it going ahead” would be for athletes to be vaccinated before the Olympics, suggesting that Tokyo-bound athletes should be given priority access to the coronavirus vaccines.
-Reuters/AFP
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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