Governing Bodies
Olympic flame arrives in Tokyo for no-spectator torch relay
The Olympic flame arrived in Tokyo on Friday (July 9) at a low-key arrival ceremony with the public kept away over virus fears, the day after Japanese officials said spectators will be banned from most Games events.
On a rainy morning exactly two weeks before the July 23 opening ceremony of the biggest sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic began, the flame was carried on stage in a lantern and handed to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike.
On Wednesday, officials announced that the Olympic torch relay had been scrapped on Tokyo’s public roads, as virus concerns continue to plague the Games.
Right up to the opening ceremony on July 23, the torch ceremonies will be streamed online, with authorities urging spectators to watch them “in the comfort of your home”.
Only the relay leg in the Ogasawara islands – a remote archipelago some 1,000km south of Tokyo – will go ahead in public as scheduled.
The nationwide torch relay has been fraught with problems since it began in March, with almost half the legs disrupted in some way. The relay was forced off public roads in famous tourist cities such as Kyoto and Hiroshima over fears that crowds of fans could spread the virus.
And it has also met with some public opposition, with a 53-year-old woman arrested on Sunday for squirting liquid from a water pistol towards a runner.
As the final countdown begins, the mood is far from the usual festive Olympic spirit.
Tokyo will be under a virus state of emergency from Sunday (July 11) until Aug 22, putting a further dampener on an already unusual Olympics.
Given the decision, the organisers said on Thursday they would bar spectators from venues in Tokyo and three surrounding areas, where most competition will happen. A handful of events will be held elsewhere in the country with some fans in attendance.
The move disappointed fans and athletes alike, with Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios saying it tipped the scale as he wavered on whether to compete.
“The thought of playing in front of empty stadiums just doesn’t sit right with me. It never has,” he said on social media, announcing his withdrawal.
But others said they were grateful for the chance to take part, with US swimmer Katie Ledecky saying the Games would still be “a really beautiful thing”.
Despite the disruptions, Ms Koike said the flame’s passage offered “hope” that she said torchbearers would “carry into the Olympic stadium”.
When the cauldron is lit on July 23, only dignitaries and officials will be in the stands at the 68,000-capacity National Stadium in central Tokyo.
A decision on Paralympic spectators will be taken after the Olympics end.
The move left a sour taste for Natsuko Kamioka, who had tickets to take her son to the men’s volleyball quarter-finals. “They’ve avoided cancelling the Games but they haven’t been left with a good outcome. No one is happy,” she told AFP.
Olympic “superfan” Kyoko Ishikawa, who has attended every Summer Games in the past three decades, was more sanguine. “It’s not getting me down,” said Ishikawa, who has become a familiar face at Olympic venues over the years in her traditional Japanese outfit and “hachimaki” headband.
“Now, what I have to do is ask how I can still create an opportunity to connect people around the world through the Olympic Games.”
And French decathlete Kevin Mayer, who won silver at Rio 2016, said the roar of crowds was only one aspect of competition.
“They are taking away part of the joy of sport,” he told a press conference. “But we should not forget why we play sports.
“I’m being given the opportunity to express myself in a way not given to everyone, in the biggest competition that exists.”
-AFP
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria is set to host the 48th Ordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), marking the third time the country will stage the continent’s top football gathering.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the sidelines of the ongoing Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, approved Nigeria’s proposal to host the event.
The approval followed a meeting between President Tinubu and CAF President Patrice Motsepe, attended by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, former NFF President and Special Adviser to the CAF President Amaju Melvin Pinnick, as well as CAF Acting General Secretary Samson Adamu.
Sports Villages Square affirms that Nigeria previously hosted the CAF Congress at the National Theatre in Lagos in March 1980 and again in February 2009, when the late CAF President Issa Hayatou secured another four-year term in office.
In addition to this year’s 48th Ordinary General Assembly, scheduled for October, Nigeria also secured the hosting rights of the CAF Awards ceremony. The annual awards gala, which celebrates Africa’s top football performers, has been staged in Morocco over the past three years.
Nigeria had earlier hosted the CAF Awards when telecom firm, Globacom, was the headline sponsor. This year’s event will be the seventh to be held in Nigeria after those of 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
The CAF Ordinary General Assembly traditionally attracts key football stakeholders from across the continent, including presidents of CAF’s 54 member associations, representatives of the six zonal unions and senior football administrators.
The CAF Awards ceremony is regarded as one of African football’s flagship events, honouring outstanding players, coaches, clubs and officials in a glamorous setting that showcases the continent’s football excellence.
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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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