Governing Bodies
TOKYO 2020 ATHLETES TO BE RESTRICTED TO GAMES VILLAGE & TESTED EVERY FOUR DAYS
Athletes at the Tokyo Games will be barred from leaving the Olympic Village other than to go to their competition venues, according to new rules to be published from next week.
Competitors will be tested for Covid-19 before and after they arrive in Japan and then every four days while at the Games – but they will not have to quarantine when they land in the country.
Athletes can only stay in the Village from five days before their event and must leave straight away afterwards, so will not be allowed to party or sightsee.
The International Olympic Committee will next week release a ‘playbook’ of the countermeasures they plan to put in place in an attempt to stop coronavirus spreading at the Games in the summer.
Revealing one of the new guidelines, John Coates, the IOC vice-president and chair of the Tokyo 2020 coordination commission, said: ‘Athletes will be limited to the Olympic Village and transport to their venue for competition and training – that’s it, no going downtown.’
However, it is understood the rules should not affect Team GB’s pre-Games plans, as athletes will still be allowed to go into holding camps arranged by their own country before moving to the Village closer to competition.
Meanwhile, Tokyo organisers stand to lose £585million in ticket revenue if the Games go behind closed doors – a move which looks increasingly likely.
IOC president Thomas Bach and Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori both admitted for the first time this week that crowds could be barred from this summer’s event.
And that would leave the Tokyo organising committee missing out on cash from selling 7.8m tickets for the Olympics – 4.45m of which have already been sold in Japan and would all require refunds.
A recent study also estimated that a fan-free Games would cost the Japanese economy £16.7billion in total, based on lost spending – both directly and indirectly to the event – and lost tourism.
Local sponsors have started to scale back or hold their advertising campaigns because of how the public mood has turned against the Olympics.
Asahi Group Holdings, the holding company of beer maker Asahi Breweries, has stopped airing the part of its TV commercial which says it is a ‘top-tier Olympics partner’.
Organisers are set to make a decision on spectators by the end of March and are understood to currently be looking at three options – empty stadiums, 50 per cent capacity or full venues.
Tokyo is currently under a state of emergency but its average daily total of coronavirus cases over the past seven-day period has now dropped below 1,000 for the first time since early January.
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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