Governing Bodies
PETITION TO CANCEL TOKYO 2020 RECEIVES 200,000 SIGNATURES ONLINE
A petition calling for the cancellation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic has received more than 200,000 signatures in two days.
The petition has been addressed to International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons.
Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto and Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa are also addressed in the petition.
In excess of 223,000 people have now signed the petition, which says the Games should be stopped to protect the lives of people in Japan.
The petition was launched by Kenji Utsunomiya, who lost to Koike in the Tokyo Governor election earlier this year.
Utsunomiya had called for the cancellation of the Games as part of his campaign.
“The spread of new corona infections has not stopped at all not only in Tokyo but also in various parts of Japan and around the world to this day,” Utsunomiya wrote on Change.org.
“Vaccination, which started at the end of last year, is currently only widespread in some areas such as Europe and the United States, and is not the decisive factor in preventing infection.
“Under these circumstances, it is extremely difficult to think that the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics can be held safely in July this year. If held in this situation, the Olympics, which should be a “festival of peace, ” would deviate significantly from that philosophy.
“Depending on the country of origin, there is a huge gap between athletes who are completely unsatisfied and those who are not.
“Also, when you come to Tokyo, you will not be able to perform satisfactorily if you are constantly exposed to the stress of infection and are subject to strict restrictions.
“In order to host the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in July, we must devote a large number of medical professionals, valuable resources such as medical facilities and medical equipment, and various other resources.
“However, as various organisations have already pointed out, there is no room in Tokyo and Japan as a whole.
“Where foreign spectators are restricted, the Olympics cause large-scale movement and contact of people.
“It is highly possible that the Olympics will exacerbate the infection situation.”
Utsunomiya claimed he would seek to give Bach the petition when he is due to visit Tokyo later this month.
The visit, however, appears in doubt with Hashimoto suggesting it will be difficult for Bach to visit Japan later this month amid state-of-emergency measures in the country.
Japanese agency Kyodo News reported last month that Bach will attend a Torch Relay celebration on May 17 in Hiroshima.
The IOC President was then expected to meet Japanese Prime Minister Suga the following day.
State-of-emergency measures are in place in several parts of Japan, including the country’s capital Tokyo.
The state of emergency was declared in Tokyo on April 24 in a bid to curb a rise in COVID-19 infections.
The tougher restrictions were initially expected to remain in place until at least May 11.
Tokyo, Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto are now set to remain under the restrictions until at least the end of May.
Hashimoto said the extended restrictions will make it difficult for Bach to visit Japan this month.
“I think it is very important to have President Bach look at the current situation,” Hashimoto said, according to Kyodo News.
“The extension of the state of emergency and having him visit during that time will mean that President Bach will be visiting in a quite a difficult time.
“It will likely cause a huge burden on him to visit during that period.”
The trip would have been the first time Bach has visited Japan since November and his second since the Games were delayed from 2020 to 2021.
Hiroshima, where Bach is was expected to attend the Olympic Torch Relay, was hit by an atomic bomb during the Second World War.
Bach has spoken in the past of how the Olympic Flame visiting locations including Hiroshima can convey a “message of peace”.
The IOC yesterday announced developers of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are set to donate doses to athletes heading to the Games.
National Olympic Committees will be tasked with coordinating distribution with their respective Governments “in accordance with each country’s vaccination guidelines and consistent with local regulations”.
The Chinese Olympic Committee has also offered to vaccinate Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 teams, with the IOC paying for the cost of each dose.
Athletes and all those with close proximity to competitors will be tested daily and everyone at the Games will be required to take two COVID-19 tests within 96 hours before they fly to Japan.
Visits to restaurants and bars have been banned, while athletes have been told to arrive no earlier than five days before their event and depart no later than two days after to limit the number of people at the Athletes’ Village.
The IOC has warned those who breach the rules could be stripped of their accreditation, and the regulations will be in place irrespective of whether participants have been vaccinated or not.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are scheduled to run from July 23 to August 8, before the Paralympics take place between August 24 and September 5.
-insidethegames
World football governing body, FIFA, today clocks its 122nd anniversary, celebrating more than a century of overseeing and expanding the global game.
Founded on May 21, 1904, in Paris, France, FIFA began with just seven member associations — France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
From that modest beginning, the organisation has grown into the most influential sports governing body in the world, with 211 member associations spread across all continents.
Over the decades, FIFA has transformed football into a truly global phenomenon through competitions such as the FIFA World Cup, Women’s World Cup, Club World Cup, youth tournaments, and developmental programmes aimed at growing the game worldwide.
The organisation has also witnessed remarkable milestones, including the expansion of the men’s World Cup from 13 teams in 1930 to 48 teams beginning from the 2026 edition to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
FIFA’s journey has equally reflected football’s growing influence beyond sport, with the game becoming a major tool for diplomacy, social inclusion, youth empowerment, and economic development across the world.
As FIFA celebrates 122 years of existence, attention is now focused on the future of the game, technological innovations, expanded competitions, women’s football growth, and the continued globalisation of football.
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UEFA has issued a lifetime ban to Petr Vlachovsky, a Czech women’s soccer coach who secretly filmed his players, the governing body announced on Tuesday.
Czech media reported that the coach was convicted in May 2025 and initially received a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year domestic coaching ban for filming FC Slovacko’s players in changing rooms, the youngest of whom was 17.
In a statement, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) said it had decided to ban Vlachovsky “from exercising any football-related activity for life” following the appointment of an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to investigate allegations of potential misconduct.
“The CEDB further decided to request FIFA to extend the abovementioned ban on a worldwide level and to order the Football Association of the Czech Republic to revoke Mr Petr Vlachovsky’s coaching licence,” the statement added.
FC Slovacko did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Football players’ union FIFPRO welcomed the ban as well as UEFA’s request for world soccer governing body FIFA to impose an international ban on Vlachovsky.
“This outcome sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behaviour has no place in football and that safeguarding the well-being of players must remain a priority at every level of the game,” FIFPRO added in a statement.
Vlachovsky had also previously served as coach of the Czech women’s Under-19s team.
RELATED STORY: https://sportsvillagesquare.com/2026/04/08/outrage-as-male-coach-who-secretly-filmed-women-players-still-free-to-work-in-football/
-Reuters
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Southampton have been kicked out of the Championship playoff final after being found guilty of spying on semi-final opponents Middlesbrough, the English Football League said on Tuesday.
Middlesbrough, who lost 2-1 to Southampton on aggregate in the semi, have been reinstated and will face Hull City on Saturday in what is dubbed the world’s richest soccer match.
Promotion to the Premier League, even with an immediate relegation, is estimated to be worth in the region of 200 million pounds ($268.10 million) over three seasons.
Southampton, who admitted the charges, were also found guilty of filming training sessions involving Oxford United in December and Ipswich Town in April during the regular season.
They have also been deducted four points from the start of next season in England’s second tier.
“An Independent Disciplinary Commission has today expelled Southampton from the Championship play-offs after the club admitted multiple breaches of EFL regulations related to the unauthorised filming of other clubs’ training,” the EFL said.
“Southampton admitted breaches of Regulations requiring Clubs to act with the utmost good faith and prohibiting the observation of another Club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match.
“The effect of today’s order is that Middlesbrough are reinstated into the 2026 play-offs and will proceed to the play-off final against Hull City. The final remains scheduled for Saturday 23 May, with the kick-off time to be confirmed.”
The EFL confirmed that Southampton could appeal against the decision and that “parties are working to try and resolve any appeal on Wednesday 20 May.
“Subject to the outcome, it could result in a further change to Saturday’s fixture,” the statement said.
‘BORO CALLED FOR SOUTHAMPTON EXPULSION
Middlesbrough had called for Southampton’s expulsion after having a training session at their Rockliffe Park site filmed 48 hours ahead of the first leg of their playoff semi-final with Southampton which ended 0-0.
The north-east club said they welcomed the decision.
“We believe this sends out a clear message for the future of our game regarding sporting integrity and conduct,” the north Middlesbrough said in a statement.
“As a club, we are now focused on our game against Hull City at Wembley on Saturday.”
Southampton were relegated from the Premier League last season and were struggling in the early part of this campaign until a storming finish in which they went unbeaten in 19 league games to finish fourth and enter the playoffs.
The south-coast club are the first to fall foul of the Football League’s regulation 127 — brought in after Leeds United were found guilty of spying on Derby County seven years ago, an offence for which they were fined 200,000 pounds.
-Reuters
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