Governing Bodies
SEVEN-TIME OLYMPIAN & MEDALLIST, HASHIMOTO APPOINTED TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS PRESIDENT
Seiko Hashimoto has been appointed Tokyo 2020 President after accepting the vacant role following the resignation of Yoshirō Mori last week.
Hashimoto said she had met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and had stepped down as Olympics Minister prior to taking up the position as head of the Organising Committee for the postponed Games.
The 56-year-old Olympic speed skating bronze medallist had been proposed for the job by the Candidate Selection Committee tasked with choosing Mori’s successor, but was reportedly initially reluctant to accept.
“I will spare no effort for the success of the Tokyo Games,” Hashimoto said.
Appointing a woman to the role is a highly significant move following the departure of Mori, who resigned after causing uproar with sexist comments about women.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said appointing a female to lead the Organising Committee “sends a very important signal with regard to gender equality”.
“With her great Olympic experience, having won a medal, participated in seven editions of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Winter Games, and having led Japan’s delegation to the Olympic Games multiple times, she is the perfect choice for this position,” Bach added.
“She will ensure that the focus in the final months of preparation remains on the athletes’ experience while planning all the necessary COVID-19 countermeasures.”
Hashimoto, who had previously faced allegations of sexual harassment at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, was reportedly one of three candidates shortlisted by the Selection Committee.
Japanese media reported Yasuhiro Yamashita, the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee and gold medallist in judo at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and Mikako Kotani, a double bronze medallist in synchronised swimming at Seoul 1988, were also in the running.
The Selection Committee, headed by 85-year-old Canon chief executive Fujio Mitarai, fast-tracked its process to find a replacement for Mori, with the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics set to open in just over five months.
It was established after the 83-year-old former Japanese Prime Minister bowed to widespread pressure and resigned as Tokyo 2020 President following his sexist remarks, when he suggested women talk too much.
International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons said it was “essential that no time was left to waste” in replacing Mori and welcomed Hashimoto’s appointment.
“She knows the Games environment well as a seven-time Olympian and former Games Minister, is well connected politically and will bring a strong athlete viewpoint to the Organising Committee,” Parsons said.
“As the former Minister of State for Gender Equality and Minister in Charge of Women’s Empowerment, I look forward to her to using the Games as a platform to advance the diversity and inclusion agenda, not just in terms of gender, but sexuality, race and, importantly, persons with disabilities.”
Former Japan Football Association head Saburo Kawabuchi, who at 84 is a year older than Mori, had emerged as the favourite for the Tokyo 2020 Presidency but withdrew from consideration after plans to give him the role were widely criticised.
Despite initially claiming the issue was “closed” following Mori’s comments, the IOC branded Mori’s remarks “absolutely inappropriate” five days later.
The sexism row marked the latest crisis for organisers of the first postponed Olympic and Paralympic Games and came amid renewed concerns over whether the event would go ahead following a surge in COVID-19 cases across the world.
Hashimoto’s seven Olympic Games are a record for a Japanese woman, after her career as a speed skater and a cyclist.
She was best known for speed skating, competing on the ice at four Winter Olympics and winning bronze over 1500 metres in Albertville in 1992.
On the bike, Hashimoto competed at three Summer Olympics without winning a medal.
Towards the end of her sporting career she moved into politics and, as a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was appointed Olympics Minister in September 2019 after a cabinet reshuffle.
She has also served as vice-president of the Japanese Olympic Committee, as a Tokyo 2020 Executive Board member and as Chef de Mission for Japan’s team at Rio 2016.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who publicly criticised Mori’s comments before he resigned, said she had “high expectations that she will approach operating the Games from an athlete’s perspective” given her experience in sport.
Hashimoto became embroiled in her own controversy at Sochi 2014 when she was seen kissing and embracing figure skater Daisuke Takahashi at a party.
Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun claimed that Hashimoto “pounced” on the athlete, then 28, which led to allegations of sexual harassment.
Hashimoto denied the allegations and Takahashi said he had not been harassed, although she later issued an apology.
“About my reckless actions, I feel regret for an action I took seven years ago,” she said today.
“Back then as well as today, I am still reflecting on myself and what I have done – and what it has evolved into.”
-insidethegames
Governing Bodies
Zimbabwe sports minister among candidates for International Olympic Committee presidency
A total of seven candidates are running for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee with the winner replacing outgoing president Thomas Bach at elections in March 2025 in ancient Olympia, Greece.
Kirsty Coventry:
Age: 41
Country: Zimbabwe
Entry into the IOC: 2013
An Olympic swimming champion and Zimbabwe’s most successful Olympian, Coventry is Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister. She is the only woman among the candidates and the only one from Africa.
Prince Feisal Al Hussein:
Age: 60
Country: Jordan
Entry into the IOC: 2010
Prince Feisal heads the Jordan Olympic Committee and has been an IOC executive board member since 2019. An Executive Board member of the Olympic Council of Asia, Prince Feisal has also held several posts at the Royal Jordanian Air Force.
Sebastian Coe:
Age: 67
Country: Britain
Entry into the IOC: 2020
An Olympic track and field champion and head of World Athletics, Coe also led the organisation for the 2012 London Olympics. A former Conservative Member of Parliament, Coe is also involved in sports consultancy and is a former head of the British Olympic Association.
Johan Eliasch:
Age: 62
Country: Britain
Entry into the IOC: 2024
The wealthy Swedish-born entrepreneur with a variety of business interests has headed the international skiing federation since 2021. He only joined the IOC in July at its session in the Paris Olympics.
David Lappartient:
Age: 51
Country: France
Entry into the IOC: 2022
A rising figure in world sports administration. He heads the international cycling body, UCI, and is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.
Juan Antonio Samaranch:
Age: 64
Country: Spain
Entry into the IOC: 2001
The son of the late former IOC president, Samaranch has considerable IOC experience and influence in his six years as vice president and 23 as a member. He headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Morinari Watanabe:
Age: 65
Country: Japan
Entry into the IOC: 2018
Watanabe has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since. He is the first Japanese candidate to run for the IOC presidency.
Governing Bodies
World Athletics boss, Coe and multi-millionaire Eliasch among seven candidates for IOC presidency
World athletics chief Sebastian Coe, multi-millionaire and Olympic newcomer Johan Eliasch and Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry are among seven candidates for next year’s International Olympic Committee presidency election, the IOC said on Monday.
IOC Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch, son of the late former IOC president, international cycling chief David Lappartient, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan and international gymnastics federation head Morinari Watanabe are also in the running to succeed current president Thomas Bach.
The 70-year-old German is stepping down next year after 12 years at the helm. The election will be held at the IOC session in ancient Olympia, Greece in March 2025.
The candidates will all present their programmes, behind closed doors, to the full IOC membership in January 2025.
The IOC, with 111 members currently, is in charge of the Olympic Games and the multi-billion dollar industry linked to the world’s biggest multi-sports event.
Bach’s departure comes with the organisation in a financially robust position, having secured $7.3 billion for the years 2025-28 and $6.2 billion already in deals for 2029-2032.
The president is elected to an eight-year first term with the possibility of a second term of four years, if re-elected.
Coe, 67, only joined the IOC in 2020 after a rocky relationship between World Athletics and the IOC over Coe’s ban of Russian track and field athletes almost a decade ago following the country’s doping scandal.
A former Olympic champion with a wealth of experience in the sports world, Coe was previously head of the London 2012 Games and the British Olympic Association. He is also a former Conservative Member of Parliament.
Coventry, 41, is the only woman running for president and the former Olympic swimming champion, who is Zimbabwe’s most decorated Olympian, could become not only the first female president but also the first from Africa.
MALE PRESIDENTS
All IOC presidents have been men, with eight of the nine from Europe and one from the United States.
The 62-year-old Eliasch, head of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), only joined the IOC in July, with the Swedish-born British businessman’s candidacy a surprise for some.
Prince Feisal, 60, is a member of the IOC executive board, having joined the organisation in 2010, while Spaniard Samaranch, with considerable IOC experience in his six years as vice president, headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
“The IOC and Olympic movement have made enormous strides over the past decade under the leadership of Mr Bach,” said Samaranch in a statement.
“The IOC now needs a new leader with deep experience of the Olympic movement who can help steer it through this period of upheaval.”
UCI chief Lappartient has been a rapidly rising figure within the sports world after joining the IOC in 2022.
The Frenchman also is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.
Japan’s Watanabe, 65, has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since, and is his country’s first ever candidate for the IOC presidency.
Under current rules members have to step down when they reach 70, the IOC’s age limit, unless they are given a four-year extension.
-Reuters
Governing Bodies
Storm in CAF over proposed statutes amendments
There is currently insinuations that proposed certain elements may have smuggled modifications to amend the Statutes of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) when the body holds its General Assembly next month in Kinshasa, Congo next month.
The confederation will be having its 46th General Assembly on 10th October. It is at such gatherings that amendments are made to existing rules.
According to an article authored by Mansour Loum, the editor of Sports News Africa, some national football federations have denied being party to proposed amendments which were linked to them.
One of such is coming from the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation which has denied signing proposals being circulated relating to amendments to CAF Statutes.
It is claimed that a circular dated 8 September has been sent to CAF member associations. Signed by CAF General Secretary, Véron Mosengo-Omba, it is titled: “Proposals for amendments to the CAF statutes and regulations for the application of the statutes, as well as the rules of procedure of the CAF General Assembly, presented by the national associations.”
Seven member associations were quoted as sponsoring the amendments. They are: Botswana, Comoros, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania and Niger.
But Equatorial Guinea has denied being party to the proposed amendment which seek to remove age barrier for candidates seeking to be CAF Presidents and also removing zonal considerations in election into FIFA Council.
The current Statute stipulates that a presidential candidate must not be older than 70 as at the date of election.
Most of the national federation members are already approaching that age. In the estimation of the author of the article, Mansour Loum, the current CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, is 62 years old. With the age limit, he could, for example, only run for two more terms.
Continuing, Loum wrote that regarding the elections to the FIFA Council, each zone has a representative on the FIFA Council and candidates for these positions can only be elected by the presidents of the member associations of their group zone.
Thus, the presidents of French-speaking federations can only vote for a French-speaking representative, the English-speakers for the English-speaking group, and so on.
The distribution of seats on the FIFA Council is currently as follows:
Francophone Group – Two members
Anglophone Group – Two members
Arabophone/Lusophone/Hispanophone Group – Two members
One female member elected from among the female candidates, regardless of language groups
The modification of the grouping by zonal unions would mean that all presidents could vote for candidates outside their group, or that the candidates would also no longer be limited to a group.
Several candidates from the same group could be elected to the FIFA Council, while at the same time some groups could no longer be represented.
Equatorial Guinea disputes any request for modification. The football federation president, Venancio Tomas Ndong Micha has reportedly denied being party to the proposed amendments.
“I am writing to you to present the disagreement of the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation with part of the content of the document sent to the CAF Executive Council on September 8, 2024 signed by you (…)
“In this document, there are amendments presented by the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation (…) By this letter, we confirm that the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has not submitted any amendments to the CAF administration for the 46th CAF Ordinary General Assembly to be held on Thursday, October 10, 2024 in Kinshasa,” he denounces.
Enough to cast doubt on this document sent by the CAF secretary general and the objective targeted. Contacted, a federation president, whose body is not mentioned in the letter, is surprised by these two requests for amendments and wonders about their intentions.
The press release from the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has sown doubt and now he is questioning the originality of the attachments included in this document which is likely to be talked about between now and the CAF General Assembly.
– Mansour Loum
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