Governing Bodies

Tokyo Games opening ceremony director fired

Published

3 years ago

July 22, 2021

On the eve of the Tokyo Games, organisers fired the director of the opening ceremony over comments he made about the Holocaust, while media reported former prime minister Shinzo Abe, a memorable advocate for the Tokyo Games, would skip the showpiece event.

The news is the latest in a series of embarrassments for Tokyo organisers that have sparked outrage at home and abroad, and comes just days after a well known musician was forced to step down as composer after old reports of his bullying and abusive behaviour surfaced.

Abe, who famously dressed up as the titular plumber from video game Super Mario at the Rio Games to represent Japan, played an outsized role in attracting the Olympics to Tokyo.

In a speech in front a banquet room full of International Olympic Committee members in 2013 that the lingering nuclear disaster at Fukushima was “under control” and pitched his nation as a “passionate, proud, and a strong believer” in the Olympics.

At the time, Abe and his supporters hoped the Olympics would parallel the 1964 Tokyo Games heralding the nation’s revival after decades of economic stagnation and also mark its recovery from a devastating nuclear and natural disaster in 2011.

Instead, the Games, delayed a year because of the global pandemic, has faced a series of setbacks, including the exit of Yoshiro Mori, the former head of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, who resigned after making sexist remarks.

That was soon followed by the resignation of Tokyo Olympics creative head Hiroshi Sasaki after he made derogatory comments about a popular Japanese female entertainer.

The Tokyo 2020 organising committee said Kentaro Kobayashi, who is listed as a show director for the Games’ opening event, was fired after a joke he made about the Holocaust as part of his comedy act in 1998 resurfaced in domestic media.

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, an international Jewish human rights organisation, had earlier released a statement condemning Kobayashi’s past behaviour.

“Any association of this person to the Tokyo Olympics would insult the memory of six million Jews and make a cruel mockery of the Paralympics,” said Abraham Cooper, a rabbi and associate dean and global social action director of the centre.

On Tuesday, a children’s book author quit the official cultural programme of the Tokyo Olympics after he was exposed on the internet to have made insensitive remarks about children with congenital disorders.

“Mr Nobumi has declined to take part in the event on his own will,” the Tokyo 2020 Nippon Festival said on its official website on July 20, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.

The festival was meant to promote the Summer Games as a symbol of global peace and human solidarity through cultural programmes and events. It is hosted by the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Subdued affair

The opening ceremony on Friday, which normally stands as a major showcase of the host nation, is set to be a subdued affair, with Japanese media reporting that less than 950 people – including only around 15 global leaders – are set to attend.

First Lady Jill Biden is expected to land in Tokyo on Thursday afternoon for the Games’ opening ceremony, raising expectations she might also use her attendance to discuss vaccines with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Biden has been travelling across the United States urging more people in the country to get inoculated.

Only a third of Japanese have had at least one dose of the vaccine, fuelling public concerns that the Olympics could become a super-spreader event. Already dozens of athletes have tested positive for Covid-19, forcing athlete withdrawals and teammates into isolation.

NHK said Abe decided against attending the ceremony after the Japanese government declared a state of emergency and virus restrictions over Tokyo, in an effort to minimise health risks among residents and visitors. Abe’s office could not immediately be reached on Thursday, a public holiday in Japan.

Covid-19 infections have jumped in the capital and are projected to spike further, straining healthcare providers.

In a recent poll in the Asahi newspaper, 68 per cent of respondents expressed doubt about the ability of Olympic organisers to control coronavirus infections, with 55 per cent saying they opposed the Games going ahead.

Olympics competition has already begun, with the Japanese women’s softball team getting the hosts off to a winning start on Wednesday, while the highly ranked US women’s soccer team were upset by Sweden.

The second day of softball began early Thursday under cloudy skies in Fukushima with the United States defeating Canada by a run to go 2-0 in the standings. Japan faces Mexico later.

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

5 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