Governing Bodies
Afghanistan IOC member Samira Asghari calls for help to evacuate country’s female athletes
Afghanistan’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Samira Asghari has pleaded for help to evacuate the country’s female athletes, coaches and support teams from the country.
In a tweet posted today Asghari writes: “Please Afghanistan national female athletes, coaches and their entourage need your help, we must get them out of Taliban’s hands means out of Afghanistan in particular Kabul.
“Please do something before it is too late.”
Asghari tagged the accounts of the United States’ diplomat Ross Wilson, the US 3×3 basketball team and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
The Taliban has swept back to power in Afghanistan in a development that has raised serious fears over what it will mean for women’s rights and women’s sport, which the group views as un-Islamic.
Zakia Khudadadi had been due to become the first female athlete to represent Afghanistan at a Paralympic Games at Tokyo 2020, but it was announced earlier this week that the situation and lack of flights from the country meant that she would no longer be able to participate in the Para taekwondo competition.
As reported by Kyodo News, Khudadadi has also appealed for support to reach the Paralympics.
“I am an Afghan woman, and as a representative of Afghan women, I ask you to help me,” Khudadadi said.
“My intention is to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
“Please hold my hand and help me.”
The 23-year-old said she is “imprisoned inside the house” with relatives in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, and “cannot even go outside this house with confidence and with security to go out to buy a few things for myself or to train.”
Afghanistan sent five athletes to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and one to the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
However, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) confirmed earlier this week that the country would no longer feature at Tokyo 2020.
A spokesperson for the IOC said when asked about Asghari’s tweet: “The IOC is monitoring the situation and is in contact with the sport community in Afghanistan.
“At the same time, we have forwarded relevant information to a number of responsible Governments.
“For obvious reasons of security of concerned people, we would not comment further at this stage.”
Asghari is the first IOC member from Afghanistan.
She was elected in October 2018, and is a peace and human rights advocate in her country.
The Taliban has declared victory in Afghanistan, as well as its intention to form a new Government and establish international relations after taking the capital Kabul.
The Islamist group believes in Sharia law and vigorously restricts the freedoms of women.
Female employees in some areas taken over by the group have been told not to return to their jobs, while in others women must wear a burqa if they leave home, and must be accompanied by a male guardian.
The group said this week that it will respect’s women’s rights “within the framework of Islam”, and would welcome women in Government positions.
However, doubts remain internationally.
The Taliban imposed severe restrictions on women during its rule of Afghanistan in the late 1990s, but was removed from power in an operation led by US forces in 2001.
An “agreement for bringing peace” was signed between the Taliban and the US in February 2020 during the Donald Trump administration, and President Joe Biden announced in April this year that all US troops would leave Afghanistan by September 11.
However, in recent weeks the Taliban has advanced across Afghanistan, and the country’s President Ashraf Ghani fled on Sunday (August 15).
Kabul’s airport has been closed to commercial flights, but thousands have been desperately attempting to escape the country, with videos showing huge numbers of people on the runway, while others have fallen to their deaths after attempting to cling to an aircraft as it took off.
-insidethegames
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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