Governing Bodies
STATE OF EMERGENCY IN JAPAN; OLYMPIC FLAME OFF DISPLAY
Tokyo 2020 officials will work from home as far as possible after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe declared a state of emergency for the capital, Osaka and five other prefectures today.
Abe made the decision as expected due to rising fears about the coronavirus pandemic in Japan.
He also stated that Olympic facilities, which are no longer needed imminently due to the postponement of Tokyo 2020 until next year, could be used for patients with mild infections as hospitals are nearing capacity.
Tokyo 2020 will now hold press briefings remotely while the press room will close.
“Work regarded as essential will as far as possible be performed remotely from employees’ homes,” Tokyo 2020 told insidethegames in a statement.
“Work that necessitates physical presence in the office will be reduced to an absolute minimum, with thorough measures being taken to prevent the spread of infection.”
The Olympic Flame, currently on display in disaster-hit Fukushima, will be removed from public viewing today.
It had been due to stay on show in the region until the end of April.
The state of emergency is the first of its kind in Japan.
Governors in the designated areas will be able to ask residents to stay at home, but their requests are not enforceable by law.
Concerns have grown in recent weeks over the volume of cases in Tokyo and other major Japanese cities.
The escalation in the number of infections since the postponement of Tokyo 2020 until 2021 has sparked questions and criticism in Japan.
It has been claimed Japan understated the extent of the outbreak and delayed introducing stricter measures during a time where officials, including Abe, were hoping the Games would go ahead as planned from July 24 this year.
While the sharp increase in coronavirus cases in Japan underlines why the Games had to be postponed, it has also coincided with the period following confirmation of the one-year delay to the Games.
There have been nearly 4,000 cases of COVID-19 in Japan and nearly 100 people have died.
According to reports, Abe said that infections could reach 10,000 in a fortnight and 80,000 in a month if no measures were put in place.
-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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