Olympics
‘COUP PLOT’ BREWING IN US OLYMPIC BODY
BY MICHAEL PAVITT
A group of more than 50 Olympians have called for the “near complete” resignation of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Board and senior leadership.
The group who have dubbed themselves the ‘Committee to Restore Integrity to the USOC’, issued a press release which urged resignations from the Board following the Ropes & Gray report published last month.
The independent report published by the law firm claimed both USOC and USA Gymnastics had facilitated former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar’s abuse of hundreds of athletes and had failed to act when the allegations against him emerged.
Senators have called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate and USOC has begun the process to potentially revoke USA Gymnastics’ recognition as the member national governing body for the sport.
The report also accused former USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun and chief of sport performance Alan Ashley of being aware of the accusations more than a year before they became public.
Ashley was sacked from his role following the release of the 252-page document, which details the alleged lack of action taken by bodies including USA Gymnastics and the USOC.
Blackmun resigned shortly after the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, citing ill health as the reason for his departure.
The Committee to Restore Integrity to the USOC, which previously called for the resignation of Blackmun prior to the Pyeongchang, has now called for further resignations following the Ropes & Gray report.
They state the investigation and a Congressional House subcommittee report call for “profound cultural changes to the USOC; a re-organisation that puts athletes’ interests and their well-being first”.
In particular, the group have criticised the appointment of Rich Bender and the re-appointment of Steve Mesler to four-year terms on to the USOC Board.
Rich Bender was one of three new Board members approved last week ©Getty Images
The group allege Mesler “frequently defends the USOC’s cultural status quo” and have claimed the Athletes’ Advisory Council were not asked for feedback before confirming the Olympic bobsleigh gold medallist to a second term.
They also allege Bender has previously “intimidated and insulted athlete-leaders that spoke out against the USOC’s current culture”.
Bender was appointed to the USOC Board as a National Governing Bodies Council representative.
He has been the executive director of USA Wrestling in 2001, reportedly helping membership reach an all time high in 2018.
Bender has also been given credit for assisting the effort to maintain the wrestling’s place in the Olympic Games.
Athletes who are part of the Committee to Restore Integrity include 18-time Grand Slam tennis champion Martina Navratilova and four-time Olympic diving gold medallist Greg Louganis.
The appointments were criticised by Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Olympian and chief executive of Champion Women.
“It is disappointing that the USOC still fails to look inward, even after independent reports demonstrate their culpability in failing to help athletes,” she said.
“Their two recent appointments to the Board, without athlete involvement, further demonstrate why.
“They should not be leading America’s Olympic Movement.
“The problem remains; we must strengthen athletes’ rights against bureaucrats acting with a five-ring-fuelled sense of self-importance.”
Hogshead-Makar has tweeted support for the two other appointments to the USOC Board last week, with Brad Snyder and Beth Brooke-Marciniak having both been approved.
Snyder is a five-time Paralympic swimming gold medalist, having competed at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
He was named a member of the Paralympic Advisory Committee in 2018 and is a part-time instructor in ethics and leadership at the US Naval Academy.
Brooke-Marciniak, an independent member, is global vice chair of public policy for professional services firm EY.
She had previously worked for two years in the United States Department of the Treasury and was responsible for all tax policy matters related to insurance and managed care.
Her other roles include serving on the Board of trustees of the Aspen Institute, the Women’s Advisory Board of the World Economic Forum and the advisory board of Out Leadership.
When announcing the appointments last week, USOC chair Susanne Lyons claimed the trio would be advocates for athletes.
“The USOC is at a pivotal point and, now more than ever, we have a unique responsibility to ensure that athletes are protected, supported and empowered in equal measure,” Lyons said.
“I look forward to working with Rich, Brad and Beth as we continue our critically important work to confront the challenges facing our organisation so that we can emerge as a stronger, better community for the athletes we serve.”
Nigeria’s Super Falcons will face a confident and free-scoring Comoros side in the next round of the women’s football qualifiers for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games after the island nation completed a staggering 30-0 aggregate demolition of Sudan.
Comoros sealed their passage to the next stage with a 13-0 victory in the second leg of their first-round tie, having already recorded a commanding win in the opening match. The result saw the Coelacanthes score an extraordinary 30 goals across the two legs without conceding a single goal.
The emphatic triumph has generated excitement around the rapidly improving Comoros women’s national team, but a much sterner examination now awaits against Africa’s most successful women’s football nation.
Nigeria, ten-time African champions and one of the continent’s traditional powerhouses, enter the next round as overwhelming favourites. However, Comoros’ remarkable scoring exploits against Sudan suggest they will arrive with growing confidence and belief.
The Coelacanthes dominated both encounters from start to finish, displaying clinical finishing and defensive solidity that left Sudan with no answer. Their tally of 30 goals over two matches represents an astonishing average of 15 goals per game.
For Nigeria, the fixture will mark the beginning of another quest for Olympic qualification after missing out on the women’s football tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Super Falcons, who recently impressed in their international friendly victories over Senegal in Ikenne, boast vastly greater experience and pedigree than their upcoming opponents. The nine-time Women’s Africa Cup of Nations champions have consistently been among the continent’s strongest teams and remain Africa’s highest-ranked women’s national side.
Comoros coach Youssouf Abdallah has described his team’s performances against Sudan as evidence of the progress being made within the squad, but the encounter with Nigeria will provide a true measure of their development.
While Comoros’ record-breaking victory has captured attention across African football, the challenge of overcoming Nigeria represents a significant leap in quality. The Super Falcons have traditionally dominated lower-ranked African opponents and will be expected to continue their march towards a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The dates for the second-round qualifiers are expected to be confirmed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), with the winners advancing further in the race for a place at the Olympic Games in the United States.
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By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, the Super Falcons, will begin their campaign for a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games from the second round of the African qualifiers after being granted a bye in the opening stage.
The draw, conducted on Wednesday in Cairo by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), placed Nigeria among 29 higher-ranked teams exempted from the first round of the series.
The Super Falcons will take on the winner of the first-round clash between South Sudan and Comoros in their opening fixture of the qualifiers.
A total of 35 nations are competing for just two available slots allocated to Africa for the women’s football tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, underlining the intensity and high stakes of the qualification process.
The qualifiers will be contested over five knockout rounds on a home-and-away basis, leaving little room for error as teams battle for continental representation on the global stage.
The first round involves the six lowest-ranked teams—Sudan, Mauritius, Djibouti, South Sudan, Madagascar and Comoros—based on the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings. Winners from this stage will advance to face each other again before the 29 seeded teams, including Nigeria, enter the fray.
Nigeria will be aiming to consolidate their status among Africa’s elite women’s football nations, having qualified for the most recent Olympic tournament alongside Zambia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Although the Super Falcons boast a notable Olympic pedigree, having made their debut at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and subsequently appearing at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Paris 2024, qualification has not always been easy.
The 16-year gap between their last two participations in Beijing 2008 and Paris 2024 illustrates the tough time they have endured in the qualifying series.
With the women’s football event at Los Angeles 2028 set to feature 16 teams—including hosts the United States—Nigeria’s path to qualification is expected to be demanding.
Attention will now shift to the preliminary encounter between South Sudan and Comoros, as Nigeria’s technical crew intensify preparations ahead of their second-round entry point.
For the Super Falcons, the mission is clear: successfully navigate a rigorous qualifying campaign and secure a return to the Olympic stage in 2028.
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Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, the Super Falcons, will on Wednesday discover their route to the football event of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles when the Confederation of African Football conducts the official draw in Cairo.
The draw ceremony, scheduled for April 29 at CAF headquarters in Egypt, will set in motion Africa’s qualifying campaign for the women’s football tournament of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
A total of 35 countries, including Nigeria, will participate in the race for just two tickets allocated to Africa for the Olympic football event, which will take place from July 11 to 29, 2028.
Alongside Nigeria, other contenders include continental heavyweights such as South Africa, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Zambia, as well as a wide range of emerging nations from across the continent.
The full list of participating teams also features Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
According to CAF, the qualification series will be played over five rounds, gradually narrowing the field to the two teams that will fly Africa’s flag at the Olympics in the United States.
For Nigeria, Africa’s most successful women’s national team, the qualifiers present another opportunity to reaffirm their continental dominance and secure a return to the Olympic stage after recent mixed fortunes in global competitions.
The Super Falcons, nine-time African champions, are expected to be among the top seeds when the draw is conducted, a factor that could influence their early-round opponents.
Wednesday’s ceremony in Cairo will therefore provide clarity on the fixtures, timelines and potential hurdles facing Nigeria and other contenders as the road to Los Angeles officially begins.
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