Olympics
RUSSIA ESCAPES TOKYO OLYMPICS 2020 BAN
BY DUNCAN MACKAY, EDITOR, INSIDETHEGAMES.BIZ
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has signalled that Russia will not be banned from Tokyo 2020 even if a suspension is reimposed on the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA).
Access to the Moscow Laboratory before December 31 was a compulsory condition set when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Executive Committee controversially lifted the suspension of RUSADA on September 20.
Yesterday’s deadline was missed, leading to calls for RUSADA to be suspended again, which it had been speculated could lead to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) being banned from Tokyo 2020.
WADA today officially confirmed that its team of experts, led by Dr. José Antonio Pascual, had failed to access the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) and the underlying data from the Laboratory in Russia’s capital.
In November, WADA President Sir Craig Reedie had claimed they had “an absolutely written guarantee that this will happen”.
“I am bitterly disappointed that data extraction from the former Moscow Laboratory has not been completed by the date agreed by WADA’s ExCo in September 2018,” Sir Craig said today.
“since then, WADA has been working diligently with the Russian authorities to meet the deadline, which was clearly in the best interest of clean sport. The process agreed by WADA’s ExCo in September will now be initiated.”
RUSADA is now facing the threat of being declared non-compliant again when WADA’s independent Compliance Review Committee (CRC) meets in Montreal on January 14 and 15.
Russia was denied the right to compete under its own flag at last year’s Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang and its athletes had to compete under the banner of “Olympic Athletes from Russia”.
But Bach has claimed that the ROC have already been punished enough after a report commissioned by WADA claimed Russia had been involved in state-sponsored doping.
“In Pyeongchang, we sanctioned the systematic manipulation of the anti-doping system in Russia during the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014,” Bach said in a New Year’s message published today.
“The IOC sanctioned those entities involved, proportional to their levels of responsibility.
“At the same time, we upheld the principle of individual justice to which every human being is entitled.
“This
is why we created a pathway for clean, individual Russian athletes to compete
in Pyeongchang, but only under the strictest conditions.
“In this way, we did justice to all athletes, regardless of their passport.
“With its suspension from the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018, the Russian Olympic Committee has served its sanction, while in other organisations procedures are still on going.”
Bach’s comments are certain to anger many athletes and administrators calling for Russia to be punished after missing the key deadline.
United States Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart has described the episode as “a total joke and an embarrassment for WADA and the global anti-doping system”.
The WADA team of five experts had left Moscow on December 21 without the raw data they had been promised after Russian authorities claimed that the inspection team’s equipment to be used for the data extraction had not been certified under the country’s law.
“WADA has now written to Russia’s Minister of Sport, Pavel Kolobkov, and the director general of RUSADA, Yury Ganus, to officially notify them of the situation and to remind them of the next steps in the process,” WADA said in a statement.
They,
however, appeared to throw Russia a lifeline that another ban can be avoided if
the information is provided to WADA by the time of the CRC meeting.
“Given the importance for clean sport of access to, and subsequent authentication and analysis of, the data from the former Moscow Laboratory in order to build strong cases against cheats and exonerate other athletes, WADA experts continue to be ready to proceed with extraction of the data should the issue reported upon on 21 December be resolved by the Russian authorities,” WADA said in its statement.
An added complication, however, could be that Russia is now entering a period of shutdown while it celebrates Christmas.
The country is not due to return to work until January 8.
Nigeria’s men’s and women’s flag football teams made history in Cairo by clinching gold at the first-ever IFAF African Flag Football Championships, a landmark moment in the sport’s journey towards its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
In a thrilling men’s final at Club One Stadium in Maadi, Nigeria edged host nation Egypt 13-12 before a lively home crowd. The match was attended by prominent dignitaries, including Egypt’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Dr. Ashraf Sobhi.
The Nigerian women’s team also delivered a commanding performance in their final, defeating Morocco 26-12. Quarterback Anuoluwapo Bello led the charge with two decisive touchdowns in the second half, securing the title and underscoring Nigeria’s growing dominance in the sport.
Tunisia (men) and Egypt (women) took home bronze medals, completing the continent’s first-ever flag football championship podiums.
Africa Makes History
The two-day tournament (June 20–21, 2025), organized under the auspices of the Egyptian Federation of American Football, featured 11 teams from eight nations. It marked the opening event of IFAF’s 2025 Continental Championship Series, the most expansive competition cycle in flag football history, culminating in LA28.
As newly crowned African champions, both Nigerian teams earned automatic qualification for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships. The competition also saw 10 national teams receive their first-ever official world rankings.
Emotional Reactions from Champions and Rivals
“This is a great achievement for us and I’m proud of every woman here,” said Nigeria’s women’s quarterback Anuoluwapo Bello. “I’m excited for the opportunity to go to the World Championships and show everyone what we can do.”
“It’s amazing, surreal, historic and unbelievable,” added Nigeria’s men’s quarterback Hayes Obinna-Uzoh. “We’ve made history.”
Egypt’s men’s quarterback Mahmoud Aboushady praised the passionate home support: “We gave it our all but just came up short. The crowd was incredible — a big turnout, all cheering — and that was really touching.”
Morocco’s women’s centre Sonia Mouimen also reflected on the atmosphere: “We rarely see crowds this size making so much noise outside of soccer matches. I’m very proud of my team.”
NFL and IFAF: Partners in Growth
Flag football, one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, is expanding rapidly across Africa. Many IFAF member federations recorded more than 100% growth in participation last year.
The Cairo event was organized in partnership with the NFL, which is working with IFAF to build a sustainable development pathway for the sport across the continent.
Alongside the main competition, the NFL hosted a series of legacy-building activities:
- A continental youth flag football championship for U12 boys and girls
- A talent ID camp offering routes into the NFL Africa-Europe Academy and the International Player Pathway (IPP) program
- A coaching education clinic for aspiring female coaches, featuring IFAF Global Flag Ambassador Elisa De Santis (France)
Star NFL players of African descent, Bobby Okereke (New York Giants, Nigeria) and Tanoh Kpassagnon (Cote d’Ivoire/Uganda), were present in Cairo, joined by two-time Super Bowl winner Osi Umenyiora, the NFL’s Africa lead.
“The first African Continental Championship was a tremendous success, and Egypt proved to be the perfect host,” said Umenyiora. “It was inspiring to see nations from across the continent come together and showcase their incredible talent.”
Looking Ahead
IFAF President Pierre Trochet hailed the championship as a foundational moment:
“Every player and official who set foot on the field in Cairo this week can claim a piece of history. More important than the history is the future. We are committed, alongside the NFL, to using this tournament as a springboard for long-term growth.”
Egyptian Federation President Ali Rafeek echoed the sentiment:
“No words can truly capture the emotion of this moment. It was a world-class competition filled with outstanding performances and incredible energy. Africa is officially on the flag football map.”
The event also marked the beginning of IFAF’s partnership with the International Testing Agency, which launched anti-doping education initiatives for athletes and officials during the championship.
The IFAF Continental Flag Football series continues later this year with EURO FLAG 2025 in Paris, France.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s directive banning citizens from 12 countries from entering the U.S. exempts athletes, and LA28 officials said on Thursday they were confident the Games had the full backing of the administration.
Trump signed the proclamation on Wednesday as part of an immigration crackdown he said was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.
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“The important thing for us is that the federal government and this administration recognized the importance of the Olympics and the Games,” LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover told Reuters on Thursday.
“There is a carve-out in the order in the travel ban that allows for and assures that there will be access to the Games for the athletes and their families and officials.
“We will be able to have a wide-open Games.”
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will be partially restricted.
Casey Wasserman, the chairman of LA28, the private, non-profit company organizing the Games, said he had “great confidence” that the positive working relationship with the administration would continue.
“It was very clear in the directive that the Olympics require special consideration, and I want to thank the federal government for recognizing that,” he told a press conference after hosting International Olympic Committee officials in Los Angeles.
Wasserman added that he did not anticipate the travel ban to have any impact on ticket sales, which will begin next year.
The U.S. along with Canada and Mexico will host the FIFA World Cup in 2026, and Trump said during a task force meeting last month that he wanted people traveling to the U.S. to watch that competition to have a seamless experience during their visit.
“At the White House task force the president, the vice president, all of the administration officials said, ‘We welcome the world to come to FIFA,’” Hoover said.
“I think the administration is welcoming the world to come to LA.”
Hoover said LA28 continues to forge ties with the administration ahead of the mega-sporting event, now just over three years away.
“We have direct communication with the White House through the chief of staff, we have direct communication with the Department of State, and we are working with the State Department to have embedded teams to coordinate visa access,” he said.
-Reuters
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The Los Angeles 2028 Olympics will feature an increase in women’s soccer teams from 12 to 16, while the men’s competition will be downsized from 16 to a dozen teams, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday.
The decision was part of several changes to the Olympic event programme, including more mixed events across various sports and all team sports featuring at least the same number of women’s and men’s teams.
The IOC said the reason for the sharp increase in women’s soccer teams was the rapidly growing popularity of women’s team sports, especially in the United States, and that change in the competition format reflected that rapid growth.
“We wanted to do something to reflect that growth and equally with the United States being the home of the highest level of popularity of women’s football,” IOC sports director Kit McConnell told a press conference.
He said the IOC had discussed the issue with both LA Games organisers and world soccer’s governing body FIFA before going through with the changes.
The total number of players — men’s and women’s — would not change.
The United States, who will also host the 2026 men’s and the 2031 women’s World Cup, have won five Olympic gold medals in the women’s competition.
The men’s teams use mostly under-23 players at Olympic Games.
The LA Games will have a total of 351 medal events in all sports, 22 more than at Paris 2024 Olympics.
Several sports, including archery, athletics, golf and gymnastics will be adding new mixed-team events, with the total number of athletes unchanged at 10,500.
The five sports proposed by the LA Games organising committee — baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash — will have an extra 698 quota places.
-Reuters
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