Governing Bodies
Olympic Games will go ahead even under state of emergency
The Tokyo Olympics will go ahead even if the city is under a state of emergency due to Covid-19, a top Olympic official said on Friday (May 21), underscoring the challenges facing organisers of the pandemic-hit Games.
With just nine weeks until the Games get underway, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sought to calm fears in Japan that the event would present a burden to a medical system already under strain from the pandemic at the end of a three-day virtual meeting to discuss preparations.
In a boost for the Olympics, which was postponed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was announced that French President Emmanuel Macron, whose country will host the 2024 Games, plans to attend the opening ceremony in Tokyo.
The global sporting event faces mounting opposition from the public, and in a Reuters company survey released on Friday nearly 70 per cent of respondents said they wanted a cancellation or further postponement.
Asked whether the Olympics would go ahead even if Tokyo is under a state of emergency, the IOC vice-president John Coates, who oversees the preparations, said: “Absolutely yes.”
He added that “all of the plans we have in place to protect the safety and security of the athletes and the people of Japan are based on the worst possible circumstances”.
Coates, who spoke at a news conference at the end of the meeting, said that more than 80 per cent of residents of the Olympic Village would be vaccinated ahead of July 23, when the Olympics start.
He added that additional medical personnel would be part of the foreign Olympic delegations to support the medical operations and the implementation of the Covid-19 countermeasures at the Games.
Japan has vaccinated just 4.1 per cent of its population, according to Reuters’ global tracker, the lowest rate among the world’s wealthy countries and only about a half of its medical staff have completed their inoculations.
In contrast to some other Group of Seven (G7) nations that are beginning to end pandemic-busting lockdown measures, much of Japan remains under emergency curbs amid a fourth wave of infections.
Coates said he hoped that public acceptance of the Games would rise as more people get vaccinated.
“But if it doesn’t, then our position is that we just have to make sure that we get on with our job. Our job is to ensure the Games are safe for all of the participants, and all the people of Japan,” he said.
To minimise risk of infections, organisers have cut the number of people coming to participate in the Olympics as part of foreign delegations to 78,000 from about 180,000, Seiko Hashimoto, who runs the organising committee, told reporters.
She said that the Olympics would rely on 230 doctors and 300 nurses a day, about 50,000 to 60,000 coronavirus tests would be carried out daily and that the organisers have secured about 80 per cent of the medical staff they need.
“We want to make sure we secure medical personnel in a way that will not burden local medical services,” said Ms Hashimoto.
-Reuters
By Kunle Solaja.
Egyptian publication Ahram has reported an astronomical increase in prize money in all tiers of Egyptian domestic competitions.
This decision by the Egyptian Football Association to unveil what it described as the biggest prize-money package in its history for the 2025/26 season has once again thrown the spotlight on the modest financial rewards in Nigerian domestic football competitions.
Under the new structure announced by the Egyptian federation, winners of the Egypt Cup will receive EGP 2 million (approximately $37,000), while runners-up will earn about $19,000. The champions of the Egyptian Premier League are also expected to pocket EGP 5 million, estimated at about $94,000.
The package extends beyond the elite division. Clubs promoted from Egypt’s Second Division (A) will each earn roughly $19,000, while those advancing from Second Division (B) will receive close to $9,500 each.
Women’s football and youth competitions were equally accommodated. Winners of the Women’s Football League will receive about $9,500, while the Women’s Egypt Cup champions and runners-up will earn nearly $7,500 and $3,700 respectively. Youth championships across several age categories also have dedicated prize allocations running into millions of Egyptian pounds.
The Egyptian initiative is being viewed in many football circles as a deliberate attempt to improve club stability, encourage grassroots development and make domestic competitions more competitive.
For Nigerian football stakeholders, the development offers another example of how stronger financial incentives can stimulate growth in local competitions.
In Nigeria, complaints over poor prize money have persisted for years, especially in the domestic league, women’s football and youth competitions. Several clubs continue to struggle financially, while players and officials often lament inadequate rewards despite demanding schedules and rising operational costs.
Observers argue that meaningful prize money can motivate clubs to invest more seriously in infrastructure, player welfare, youth development and women’s football.
The Egyptian model also demonstrates that football development is not restricted to top-flight competitions alone. By extending financial rewards to lower divisions and youth categories, the federation appears to be creating a broader economic support system for its football ecosystem.
Many Nigerian football followers believe the Nigeria Football Federation, the Nigeria Premier Football League and corporate partners can draw valuable lessons from Egypt’s approach.
With Nigerian clubs facing increasing financial pressure and continental competitiveness declining in recent years, analysts insist that enhanced prize money could become one of the incentives needed to revive domestic football and restore greater excitement around.
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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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