Governing Bodies
BACH TO BE RETURNED UNOPPOSED AS IOC PRESIDENT
Thomas Bach will be re-elected unopposed for a second term as Olympic chief this week, just five months before the opening ceremony of the coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Games and less than a year from the increasingly scrutinised 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The 67-year-old German’s second mandate as president of the International Olympic Committee promises to be as eventful, or turbulent, as his first.
The most pressing agenda item at the start of his new four-year term, after an opening eight years that saw him deal with, among other things, the problem-laden 2014 Sochi and 2016 Rio Games, state-sponsored Russian doping and the deadly wave of coronavirus, is the Tokyo Olympics.
The IOC took the decision to postpone the 2020 Games for a year to July 23-August 8 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The question is now how they will go ahead.
Bach, who won Olympic fencing gold for West Germany in the team foil in 1976 and has been an International Olympic Committee member since 1991, should have been reinstalled as IOC president in the Greek capital Athens which was the site of the first Modern Olympics in 1896.
But the Covid-19 pandemic quickly put paid to that.
The 137th IOC Session will instead take place with Bach at Lausanne headquarters and members connecting through video-conferencing from Wednesday to Friday (March 10-12) , with the executive board meeting Monday seen as preparation for the main event.
Before reinstalling Bach, the executive board is scheduled to receive updates on the activities of the IOC administration and reports from the Organising Committees for the upcoming Olympic Games.
Among them will be the “Agenda 2020”, which has sought to streamline the candidacy process for bidding Olympic cities in a bid to cut costs.
It saw Paris granted the 2024 Olympics and Los Angeles the 2028 Games back in 2017, and the IOC last month accorded preferred candidate status accorded to Brisbane for 2032.
What most eyes will be on, however, is Tokyo. There still lies a degree of unpredictability.
A cancellation of the Tokyo Games is not out of the realms of imagination despite the race to contain the coronavirus and press ahead with a Games contained in a bio-secure bubble.
Bach has been at pains to reiterate that the IOC remains committed to holding a “successful and safe” Tokyo Games this year, dismissing cancellation talk as “speculation”.
Overseas spectators, however, are likely to be shut out, Japanese media reported last week after organisers said that public safety would be the “top priority” at the Games.
The Japanese government, Tokyo metropolitan government and Tokyo 2020 organising committee are leaning towards holding the massive event in front of a domestic audience only, the Yomiuri Shimbun and other outlets said.
Officials fear that an influx of visitors from abroad will endanger the Japanese public, with Tokyo currently under a Covid-19 state of emergency that limits capacity at sporting events to 5,000.
Columnist David Owen of the respected insidethegames.biz website called Bach “an unlucky president” of the IOC.
“It is sobering to reflect that, having completed a full term, he has still to preside over a truly unblemished Games – and given the darkening political shadows hanging over Beijing, Paris 2024 might represent his final chance to do so,” Owen said in reference to threats to boycott the 2022 Winter Games over alleged human rights abuses by the Chinese government.
-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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