Governing Bodies
TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY BEGINS
A year after it was originally scheduled to do so, the Olympic Flame has finally started its 121-day journey around Japan.
Footballer Azusa Iwashimizu led her fellow squad members known as “Nadeshiko Japan” as they carried the Flame through the precincts of the J-Village national football training centre in Fukushima in bright sunlight.
Although skipper Homare Sawa had been prevented from taking part by illness and travel restrictions meant team mates Saki Kumagai and Nahomi Kawasumi were also unable to participate, some 15 members of the victorious 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup squad were joined by coach Norio Sasaki for a moment that was highly symbolic for the Tokyo Olympics.
The team passed the Torch to 16-year-old-goalkeeper Asato Owada, a local high school pupil.
Earlier, Paralympic shooter Aki Taguchi and actress Satomi Ishihara, both Torch Relay ambassadors, had worn face masks as they ignited a ceremonial cauldron with a taper lit from a Flame kept alight since March 2020.
Children from local primary and junior high schools had combined to sing Hana Wa Saku (Flowers Will Bloom) and there was a dance performance from the “Hula Girls”, a local troupe which had toured Japan after the 2011 earthquake.
There was also a display of traditional drumming in a short but emotional ceremony on a stage decorated with cherry blossoms.
Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said: “The torch of Tokyo 2020 will become a bright light for hope for Japanese citizens and citizens in the world and a light at the end of the tunnel.”
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach offered congratulations to Tokyo 2020 and said he would “follow the Olympic Torch Relay with great excitement over the coming weeks”.
“Inspired by the Olympic values of peace and solidarity, the Olympic Torch Relay will carry Tokyo 2020’s message, ‘hope lights our way’, across Japan and the world,” Bach said.
“It will also acknowledge the challenges faced by society since last year, highlighting the importance of unity and solidarity within humankind, showing that we can only become stronger – together.”
Fukushima, where the Torch Relay began, was one of the prefectures hit hard by 2011’s earthquake and tsunami which left more than 15,000 people dead.
Governor Masao Uchibori said: “Here in Fukushima we have been facing serious problems and are still recovering from 2011 so the Torch Relay and the Games are very precious for us.”
The ceremonies within the training centre had been closed to the public but as the Flame made its way onto the public roads, Torchbearers were joined by security escort runners who ran wearing masks.
pectators also appeared to have heeded advice to wear protective face coverings and applaud but not cheer the runners.
It had been the first time a Tokyo Torch had burned since Rio 2016 pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi carried it into the Panathinaiko Stadium for the official handover ceremony more than a year ago.
The journey around Greece had been suspended after unexpectedly large crowds came out to see film star Gerard Butler carry the Flame in Sparta.
Tokyo organisers have warned that if crowds are deemed to be too dense, the Relay around Japan could also be suspended.
It is scheduled to visit 47 prefectures in 121 days.
Each night the Tokyo Skytree will be illuminated to reflect its progress.
Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga did not attend the start of the Torch Relay, but speaking in Tokyo underlined the Government’s commitment to holding “safe and secure” Games.
Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshirō Mutō also monitored the Torch Relay from Tokyo.
“There were no significant problems,” Mutō said.
“The dense crowd situation that we have defined did not happen today and this was due to cooperation of the local residents.
“We were able to operate with no chaos.
“Today the Torch Relay has kicked a grand start.
“I feel truly happy that time has started to move.
“As long as the same operation can be conducted as today, we will have no problems even with celebrity runners.”
Mutō reported that two runners scheduled to take part had not and that the Flame had gone out twice during the course of the day.
Each time it was relit from the safety lamp.
The final runner of the first day was aerobatics pilot Yoshihide Muroya.
He ran through an avenue lined by riders from the Sōma Nomaoi, a traditional festival of mounted Samurai held in the area.
The Relay will resume its journey tomorrow in Sōma, with triple Olympian volleyball player Motoko Obayashi set to be amongst the participants.
Ninety-seven Torchbearers will relay the Flame to Aizuwakamatsu on the second day of three in Fukushima.
-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
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
Anthony Joshua seeks world title and redemption against Dubois
Beckenbauer to have street named after him near Munich’s Allianz Arena
Diamond League raise 2025 prize money to over $9 million
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
AFCON1 week agoRwanda newspaper gives 5 lessons gleaned from Rwanda-Nigeria clash
-
AFCON1 week agoPresent and Past as CAF Coaches Symposium unites Rohr, Peseiro and Eguavoen
-
CAF Confederation Cup1 week agoEnyimba continues unbeaten run against Burkina Faso clubs
-
AFCON4 days agoLibya sacks coach ahead of AFCON qualifying back-to-back matches with Nigeria
-
CAF Champions League1 week agoEnugu Rangers in slim CAF Champions League win over Angola’s Sagrada Esperanca
-
WOMEN'S FOOTBALL1 week agoFalconets crash out from U-20 Women’s World Cup
-
Governing Bodies6 days agoStorm in CAF over proposed statutes amendments
-
World Cup2 days agoMany fans risk missing 2026 World Cup as Visa window for visitors is closing