Governing Bodies

Only “Armageddon” can stop Tokyo 2020, IOC official, Pound swears

Published

3 years ago

May 28, 2021

A senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official insists “barring an Armageddon” this year’s Tokyo 2020 Olympics will go ahead despite fresh fears from the head of a Japanese doctors’ union that the Games could create a new strain of COVID-19.

Dick Pound, the longest-serving member of the IOC, has underlined the organisers’ commitment to staging the Olympics in response to growing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and increasing calls for the Games to be cancelled.

Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun has recently published an editorial, urging Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to cancel Tokyo 2020 as public opposition in Japan continues to grow.

Their concerns come as the Japanese Government looks set to extend the state of emergency measures in a number of prefectures, including Tokyo, due to rising COVID-19 cases.

According to Kyodo News, a research institute predicted that the cancelling the Olympics and Paralympics would cost Japan ¥1.81 trillion (£11.73 billion/$16.57 billion/€13.59 billion).

Pound has also spoken of his confidence in the COVID-19 countermeasures that are set to be put in place by Tokyo 2020 organisers.

“I really don’t know what the issue is other than you’ve got a well-informed, scientific group in contact with public health, which say that there’s no incremental risk going ahead with the Games to the Japanese,” Pound told Standard Sport.

“The people coming for the large measure will be vaccinated, will upon arrival be put in a bubble and kept in a bubble until they go back home.

“Organisers have now changed gears and they’re in the operational part of it.

“Barring Armageddon that we can’t see or anticipate, these things are a go.”

IOC President Thomas Bach recently claimed that more than 80 per cent of people in the Athletes’ Village would be vaccinated.

John Coates, chair of the Tokyo 2020 Coordination Commission, also claimed that it was now “clearer than ever” the Games would be safe for everyone participating, as well as the general public in Japan.

Overseas spectators have already been barred from attending the Games while a decision has yet to be taken over whether Japanese citizens will be permitted at the venues.

Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said last week that the number of Games participants from abroad had been reduced to 59,000, compared to the expected 180,000 from last year.

But Naoto Ueyama, head of the Japan Doctors Union, has warned that the Games could develop a new strain of coronavirus.

“All of the different mutant strains of the virus which exist in different places will be concentrated and gathering here in Tokyo,” said Ueyama.

“We cannot deny the possibility of even a new strain of the virus potentially emerging after the Olympics.

“If such a situation were to arise, it could even mean a Tokyo Olympic strain of the virus being named in this way, which would be a huge tragedy and something which would be the target of criticism even for 100 years.”

Tokyo reported a further 684 cases of COVID-19 as the Japanese Government considers extending the state of emergency.

The strict measures are set to end on May 31, but Suga is expected to make a decision tomorrow to extend restrictions with reports suggesting they could be in place until June 20 – almost a month before the Olympics are due to open.

The Nomura Research Institute claims Japan will lose ¥1.81 trillion should the Games be cancelled.

But it warned the country may face an even bigger economic loss if it imposed another state of emergency after the Games have taken place.

“Even if the Games are cancelled, the economic loss will be smaller than [the damage done by] a state of emergency,” Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at the Nomura Research Institute told Kyodo News.

It also reports that Tokyo 2020 will generate ¥1.66 trillion (£10.76 billion/$15.2 billion/€12.46 billion) in economic benefits should it be held without the spectators – ¥146.8 billion (£952,000/$1.34 million/€1.1 million) less than it would gain with Japanese fans.

In Japan, only 2.4 per cent of people are fully vaccinated against the virus, although the country has stepped up its inoculation process by opening vaccination centres in both Tokyo and Osaka.

The Japanese Government are looking to fully vaccinate all residents aged 65 or older – about 36 million people – by the end of July.

Doses of the vaccine developed by Moderna are set to be administered at the centres after it was approved for use in Japan by the country’s Government last week.

According to reports in Japan, two large-scale inoculation centres will be able to deliver up to 15,000 jabs each day – 10,000 in Tokyo and 5,000 in Osaka.

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.

-insdethegames

Governing Bodies

Zimbabwe sports minister among candidates for International Olympic Committee presidency

Published

4 days ago

September 16, 2024

Kunle Solaja

A total of seven candidates are running for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee with the winner replacing outgoing president Thomas Bach at elections in March 2025 in ancient Olympia, Greece.

Kirsty Coventry:

Age: 41

Country: Zimbabwe

Entry into the IOC: 2013

An Olympic swimming champion and Zimbabwe’s most successful Olympian, Coventry is Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister. She is the only woman among the candidates and the only one from Africa.

Prince Feisal Al Hussein:

Age: 60

Country: Jordan

Entry into the IOC: 2010

Prince Feisal heads the Jordan Olympic Committee and has been an IOC executive board member since 2019. An Executive Board member of the Olympic Council of Asia, Prince Feisal has also held several posts at the Royal Jordanian Air Force.

Sebastian Coe:

Age: 67

Country: Britain

Entry into the IOC: 2020

An Olympic track and field champion and head of World Athletics, Coe also led the organisation for the 2012 London Olympics. A former Conservative Member of Parliament, Coe is also involved in sports consultancy and is a former head of the British Olympic Association.

Johan Eliasch:

Age: 62

Country: Britain

Entry into the IOC: 2024

The wealthy Swedish-born entrepreneur with a variety of business interests has headed the international skiing federation since 2021. He only joined the IOC in July at its session in the Paris Olympics.

David Lappartient:

Age: 51

Country: France

Entry into the IOC: 2022

A rising figure in world sports administration. He heads the international cycling body, UCI, and is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.

Juan Antonio Samaranch:

Age: 64

Country: Spain

Entry into the IOC: 2001

The son of the late former IOC president, Samaranch has considerable IOC experience and influence in his six years as vice president and 23 as a member. He headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Morinari Watanabe:

Age: 65

Country: Japan

Entry into the IOC: 2018

Watanabe has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since. He is the first Japanese candidate to run for the IOC presidency.

Governing Bodies

World Athletics boss, Coe and multi-millionaire Eliasch among seven candidates for IOC presidency

Published

4 days ago

September 16, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Paris 2024 Olympics - Athletics - Women's Marathon Victory Ceremony - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - August 11, 2024. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach during the medal ceremony REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

World athletics chief Sebastian Coe, multi-millionaire and Olympic newcomer Johan Eliasch and Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry are among seven candidates for next year’s International Olympic Committee presidency election, the IOC said on Monday.

IOC Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch, son of the late former IOC president, international cycling chief David Lappartient, Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan and international gymnastics federation head Morinari Watanabe are also in the running to succeed current president Thomas Bach.

The 70-year-old German is stepping down next year after 12 years at the helm. The election will be held at the IOC session in ancient Olympia, Greece in March 2025.

The candidates will all present their programmes, behind closed doors, to the full IOC membership in January 2025.

The IOC, with 111 members currently, is in charge of the Olympic Games and the multi-billion dollar industry linked to the world’s biggest multi-sports event.

Bach’s departure comes with the organisation in a financially robust position, having secured $7.3 billion for the years 2025-28 and $6.2 billion already in deals for 2029-2032.

The president is elected to an eight-year first term with the possibility of a second term of four years, if re-elected.

Coe, 67, only joined the IOC in 2020 after a rocky relationship between World Athletics and the IOC over Coe’s ban of Russian track and field athletes almost a decade ago following the country’s doping scandal.

A former Olympic champion with a wealth of experience in the sports world, Coe was previously head of the London 2012 Games and the British Olympic Association. He is also a former Conservative Member of Parliament.

Coventry, 41, is the only woman running for president and the former Olympic swimming champion, who is Zimbabwe’s most decorated Olympian, could become not only the first female president but also the first from Africa.

MALE PRESIDENTS

All IOC presidents have been men, with eight of the nine from Europe and one from the United States.

The 62-year-old Eliasch, head of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), only joined the IOC in July, with the Swedish-born British businessman’s candidacy a surprise for some.

Prince Feisal, 60, is a member of the IOC executive board, having joined the organisation in 2010, while Spaniard Samaranch, with considerable IOC experience in his six years as vice president, headed the coordination commission for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

“The IOC and Olympic movement have made enormous strides over the past decade under the leadership of Mr Bach,” said Samaranch in a statement.

“The IOC now needs a new leader with deep experience of the Olympic movement who can help steer it through this period of upheaval.”

UCI chief Lappartient has been a rapidly rising figure within the sports world after joining the IOC in 2022.

The Frenchman also is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.

Japan’s Watanabe, 65, has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since, and is his country’s first ever candidate for the IOC presidency.

Under current rules members have to step down when they reach 70, the IOC’s age limit, unless they are given a four-year extension.

-Reuters

Governing Bodies

Storm in CAF over proposed statutes amendments

Published

6 days ago

September 15, 2024

Kunle Solaja

There is currently insinuations that proposed certain elements may have smuggled modifications to amend the Statutes of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) when the body holds its General Assembly next month in Kinshasa, Congo next month.

The confederation will be having its 46^th General Assembly on 10^th October. It is at such gatherings that amendments are made to existing rules.

According to an article authored by Mansour Loum, the editor of Sports News Africa, some national football federations have denied being party to proposed amendments which were linked to them.

One of such is coming from the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation which has denied signing proposals being circulated relating to amendments to CAF Statutes.

It is claimed that a circular dated 8 September has been sent to CAF member associations. Signed by CAF General Secretary, Véron Mosengo-Omba, it is titled: “Proposals for amendments to the CAF statutes and regulations for the application of the statutes, as well as the rules of procedure of the CAF General Assembly, presented by the national associations.”

Seven member associations were quoted as sponsoring the amendments. They are: Botswana, Comoros, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania and Niger.

But Equatorial Guinea has denied being party to the proposed amendment which seek to remove age barrier for candidates seeking to be CAF Presidents and also removing zonal considerations in election into FIFA Council.

The current Statute stipulates that a presidential candidate must not be older than 70 as at the date of election.

Most of the national federation members are already approaching that age. In the estimation of the author of the article, Mansour Loum, the current CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, is 62 years old. With the age limit, he could, for example, only run for two more terms.

Continuing, Loum wrote that regarding the elections to the FIFA Council, each zone has a representative on the FIFA Council and candidates for these positions can only be elected by the presidents of the member associations of their group zone.

Thus, the presidents of French-speaking federations can only vote for a French-speaking representative, the English-speakers for the English-speaking group, and so on.

The distribution of seats on the FIFA Council is currently as follows:

Francophone Group – Two members

Anglophone Group – Two members

Arabophone/Lusophone/Hispanophone Group – Two members

One female member elected from among the female candidates, regardless of language groups

The modification of the grouping by zonal unions would mean that all presidents could vote for candidates outside their group, or that the candidates would also no longer be limited to a group.

Several candidates from the same group could be elected to the FIFA Council, while at the same time some groups could no longer be represented.

Equatorial Guinea disputes any request for modification. The football federation president, Venancio Tomas Ndong Micha has reportedly denied being party to the proposed amendments.

“I am writing to you to present the disagreement of the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation with part of the content of the document sent to the CAF Executive Council on September 8, 2024 signed by you (…)

“In this document, there are amendments presented by the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation (…) By this letter, we confirm that the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has not submitted any amendments to the CAF administration for the 46th CAF Ordinary General Assembly to be held on Thursday, October 10, 2024 in Kinshasa,” he denounces.

Enough to cast doubt on this document sent by the CAF secretary general and the objective targeted. Contacted, a federation president, whose body is not mentioned in the letter, is surprised by these two requests for amendments and wonders about their intentions.

The press release from the Equatorial Guinean Football Federation has sown doubt and now he is questioning the originality of the attachments included in this document which is likely to be talked about between now and the CAF General Assembly.

– Mansour Loum