Governing Bodies
German athlete body slams IOC over “prison-like conditions” at Tokyo 2020
Athleten Deutschland has slammed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for allowing athletes to spend their quarantine period in “prison-like conditions” at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics here.
The German athlete body claims there is an “insufficient provision of fresh air” in quarantine hotels with athletes feeling “left alone” and forced to clean their clothes in the sink.
Measures imposed on those that tested positive for COVID-19 have been described as “grotesque” by the Athleten Deutschland.
It has now called on the IOC to “urgently push for substantial improvement” in quarantine conditions amid concerns from athletes.
Anyone from overseas arriving in Japan for the Games are expected to follow strict COVID-19 protocols during their time at Tokyo 2020.
But Athleten Deutschland has revealed it has received reports from athletes over “a lack of supply of basic necessities”.
Dutch skateboarder Candy Jacobs, among the athletes to have been ruled out of competing at Tokyo 2020 after testing positive for COVID-19, described the quarantine conditions as “inhuman”.
“In the current quarantine hotel, for example, there is an insufficient provision of fresh air,” a statement from Athleten Deutschland read.
“The food supply is neither rich nor balanced and does not meet the specific nutritional requirements of high-performance athletes.
“Athletes who have resumed training activities in their rooms have to clean their sweaty clothes in the sink, which hardly dry afterwards.
“They feel left alone, having to obtain a lot of information on their own.
“It is unclear to them what the exact procedure of quarantine is and what steps have to be taken after it is over.
“We have been told of language barriers in communication with medical staff.”
Athleten Deutschland insists “there is no question” that the strict quarantine requirements must be adhered to at the Games following a positive COVID-19 test in a bid to ensure it does not become a “global super-spreader event”.
The organisation adds that athletes do not anticipate being put up in luxury hotels but expect organisers will provide “adequate quarantine conditions” that meet their “legitimate physical and psychological needs”.
“The IOC has refrained from developing a Plan B from the very beginning and therefore has a special responsibility towards all those involved, including the athletes,” said Maximilian Klein, representative for international sport policy at Athleten Deutschland.
“It generates billions in revenue from their work and their performance without letting them participate in the profits as essential contributors.
“On top, the IOC has also dumped the residual risks from heat and COVID-19 on the athletes through liability waivers.
“It therefore appears grotesque that athletes who test positive have to spend their quarantine in prison-like conditions, while IOC members stay in expensive luxury hotels and are provided with high daily allowances.”
Athleten Deutschland claims the IOC “neglected” the quarantine conditions in the planning of the Games and believes it did not use its capabilities to implement acceptable solutions with those in charge.
In response, IOC Presidential spokesperson Mark Adams expressed his sympathy for those having to quarantine and claimed measures were being taken to improve their experience.
“It is always concerning, but there are extra measures that have to be taken in terms of isolation,” Adams said.
“We fully sympathise with everyone in this situation.
“There are certain regulations that the Japanese authorities imposed.
“The relevant stakeholders are able to have contact with their people who are in isolation.
“We understand it is not easy but it has to be within the Japanese rules and regulations.”
Two athletes from Trinidad and Tobago, 400 metres hurdler Sparkle Ann McKnight and long jumper Andwuelle Wright, were unable to compete in athletics events today after testing positive for COVID-19.
They became the latest athletes to be forced out of the Games because of a positive test for the novel coronavirus.
More than 20 athletes have been ruled out of Tokyo 2020 because of COVID-19, either after testing positive before travelling or in the Japanese capital.
Organisers today confirmed there had been 21 more positive COVID-19 cases in Japan among those accredited for the Games since July 1, bringing the total in that period to 246.
The IOC has claimed the number of infections is what it had been expecting and is proof that the rules in place at the Games, which have been criticised by health experts in Japan, are working.
-insidethegames
Governing Bodies
Zimbabwe sports minister among candidates for International Olympic Committee presidency
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
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
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 46th General Assembly on 10th 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
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