Latest news with #IFs
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Olympics-IOC presidential hopeful Eliasch urges political neutrality
By Amy Tennery NEW YORK (Reuters) - Johan Eliasch, a candidate for International Olympic Committee president, said the global Olympic governing body should take care to avoid political issues, tamping down concerns over the impact of a potential travel ban on the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Sources told Reuters on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump was set to ban people from Afghanistan and Pakistan from entering the U.S. as early as next week, harkening back to his first-term ban on travelers from Muslim-majority countries. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. The move would come three years before tens of thousands of athletes, coaches, officials and fans from around the world arrive for the quadrennial sport showpiece in Los Angeles. Asked how the IOC should respond if athletes from Pakistan or Afghanistan were unable to visit the U.S., the multi-millionaire Swedish-British dual national replied: "Let's put it this way: I think President Trump is somebody who will understand the importance of having the best athletes participate in LA28." "When it comes to political policies, we should always stay out of that, that theatre. And if we take sides, it's simply the wrong thing for us to do," he told Reuters in an interview. Eliasch, president of the International Ski Federation and one of seven candidates to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the IOC, swatted aside concerns that a travel ban could force the Games to be moved: "People understand that politics are politics and sport is sport." He has made political neutrality a key piece of his platform ahead of the IOC session held from March 18-21, when he hopes to earn the votes to succeed Bach following his departure in June. "Our political neutrality is founded in the fact that sport is a human right. And athletes can't - they can't choose where they were born," he said. "So therefore on no planet can one weaponise athletes for political purposes." His remarks come as Bach on Friday attempted to soothe concerns over Trump's influence on the Los Angeles Games, saying he was confident of the U.S. president's support. IOC OPPOSES UNIVERSAL TRANSGENDER RULE Trump signed an executive order banning transgender girls and women from women's sports last month, clashing with international norms and an IOC rule that allows transgender athletes to take part in the Olympics. Eliasch would move to block transgender participation in the Games, along with other candidates in next month's vote, a move he said would allow the IOC to "ring-fence" women's sport. The IOC has so far staunchly opposed imposing a universal rule, instead leaving it up to the international federations (IFs) to come up with their own rules for their sport. "The IOC can't apply a universal rule. It's for the IFs to choose whether they want to implement it or not," he said. "What we can do is apply rules for the Games. And here my position is very clear and that is if you're formed with the (sex-determining) SRY gene, you can never compete with women." The lengthy campaign for one of global sport's most powerful jobs has seen Eliasch at times at odds with long-time friends including World Athletics head Sebastian Coe, also a candidate for IOC president. Coe broke with decades of tradition last year when he offered prize money to athletics gold medallists at the Paris Games, a move Eliasch said was inconsistent with Olympic values. "If one went down this route, I think it's a slippery slope because you would then have to make sure that the prize money is equal across the board," he said. "And in some sports, the prize money that we could offer is just not meaningful."
Zawya
24-02-2025
- Sport
- Zawya
Senegal prepares to host Africa's first Olympic event: the Youth Olympic Games 2026
Senegal will welcome the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Dakar 2026, the first Olympic sporting event to be held on African soil. Dakar 2026 will take place over two weeks from 31 October 2026, bringing together 2,700 of the best young athletes from around the world. The YOG will be held in three host sites (Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly), and are envisioned to serve as a catalyst to transform Senegal through sport, while also aiming to inspire new hope, opportunities and confidence among young people across Africa and become a blueprint for future YOG hosts. This approach is embodied in the Games' motto, 'Africa welcomes, Dakar celebrates', which underscores the uniqueness of this YOG edition: Senegal is the first African country to host an Olympic sports event. The Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (YOGOC) emphasises that the YOG will be an event for the entire African continent. Please click here to view the video: In creating the motto, Dakar 2026 showed its desire to develop a brand that highlights its unique vision for the YOG, seeking to create an event that combines the Senegalese Teranga – the host nation's generosity of spirit and hospitality – with sport, youth, hope and celebration. Thirty-five International Federations (IFs) will be involved in these Games, with 25 sports featuring on the competition programme and 10 to be part of the engagement programme. Dakar 2026 will showcase one discipline from each of the 25 sports on the competition programme. These are athletics (track and field), aquatics (swimming), archery, badminton, baseball (Baseball5), basketball (3x3), boxing, breaking, cycling (road cycling), equestrian (jumping), fencing, football (futsal), gymnastics (artistic), handball (beach handball), judo, rowing (coastal rowing), rugby (rugby sevens), sailing, skateboarding (street), table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, volleyball (beach volleyball), wrestling (beach wrestling) and wushu. Additionally, Dakar 2026 will feature an engagement programme showcasing 10 sports: canoe-kayak, golf, hockey, karate, modern pentathlon, shooting, sport climbing, surfing, tennis and weightlifting. These will not feature in the competition programme but will be promoted through interactive activities on site and via digital platforms, emphasising their role as integral components and an official part of the YOG. In total, the Games will feature 151 events – split equally between men and women, with 72 events for each, alongside seven mixed-gender events. For the first time in the history of the Summer YOG, full gender equality will be achieved – not only in the overall athlete quota but also across every sport, discipline and event. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Olympic Commitee.
