Olympics
TOKYO 2020: NIGERIA’S SPORTS MINISTER PROMISES FIVE MONTHS CAMPING FOR ATHLETES
Ahead of the preparations toward the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, yesterday assured athletes that he would ensure a minimum of five months camping.
The minister gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the Teslim Balogun Stadium during his visit to the camp of the Making of Champions (MoC), an athletics consulting firm and academy.
NAN reports that Making of Champions Ltd. is a Sports Media and Management Company set up to elevate the profile and performance of sports in Nigeria and the rest of Africa.
The company, established after the country’s dismal performance at the London 2012 Olympic Games, has the goal to train athletes to a world-class level in Nigeria, to ensure that the country has a competitive advantage in the Olympics.
Dare said the ministry would ensure that the athletes were properly moblised for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, adding that it was not too late to start the preparations.
“If we have the funds readily available, perhaps we will do six months camping. In the past, we have had three months.
“This time around, we are looking at five months camping for the athletes and that journey starts from the administrative aspects to be kicked off tomorrow.
“We will bring all the key stakeholders together in Abuja and start the camping process. We are proposing three or four camp locations across Nigeria.
“As I have said, we are not going to overstretched ourselves, we will look at the sports in which we can really compete which may be seven or eight and focus on them,’’ he said.
Dare said the welfare of the athletes was paramount to him, noting that the National Sports Endowment Fund (NSEF) would be restructured.
“Conversations are ongoing, we need to have private engagement and we are progressing. Recall that Chief Iwuyanwu is the Chairperman of the NSEF.
“We will look into that, maybe, we will have a new chairman because we intend to make it independent and probably bring in more stakeholders.
“The fund is giving back to the athletes and repackage for sports development.
“What we have seen in Morocco and Doha is a benchmark and based on the experiences, we are going to focus on areas in which we have competitive advantage,’’ he said.
The Olympic rings installed on the Eiffel Tower since June to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games were removed from the Parisian monument early on Friday morning, as confirmed by an AFP photographer. But the Paris City Hall intends to replace them with a more permanent structure until 2028.
The five-coloured rings, measuring 29 metres in length and 15 metres in height, were placed between the first and second levels of the iconic iron structure on 7 June.
According to Inside the Games publication, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants the Olympic symbol to continue decorating the monument until the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
But the descendants of the tower’s creator, Gustave Eiffel are opposing the move. They are insisting that the Olympic rings are aesthetically in conflict with the concept and design of the Tower.
The 30-tonne rings initially installed on the Eiffel Tower were also not designed to withstand winter weather conditions.
Olympics
Despite Egypt winning 3 medals at Paris Olympics, President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that participatedat the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.
The mandate includes a thorough expenditure check and a performance review to better highlight areas of improvement and fund allocation in future Games.
Additionally, the president plans to take necessary measures against federations —such as limiting funds— that had negative results in the Paris Games.
Egypt’s participation in sports where it lacks a competitive advantage will also be limited, as the president aims to direct resources to promising athletes to ensure optimal results. The president also aims to reduce administrative and technical staff within Olympic delegations and task relevant ministries with preparing future Olympic athletes.
Al-Sisi’s Olympic overhaul is to be presented to the cabinet for approval and urged the government to prioritise amending the sports law for the House of Representatives for review.
Egypt took home a total of three medals in the Summer Games. Ahmed El-Gendy triumphed in modern pentathlon, Sara Samir claimed the silver in weightlifting, and 21-year-old fencer Mohamed El-Sayed earned the bronze.
-Insidethegames
Paris 2024 sold a record 12 million tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics, beating the Games record previously set by London 2012, organisers said on Sunday.
Some 9.5 million tickets were sold for the Olympics and 2.5 million for the Paralympics, which end on Sunday.
In 2012, London organisers set the record for the Paralympics with 2.7 million tickets sold but only 8.2 million were sold for the Olympics.
-Reuters
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