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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The Council of the Association of National Olympic Committees met in Lausanne, Switzerland on Monday, in advance of the IF Forum, and outlined the arrangements for distribution of the International Olympic Committee’s television rights fee shares to its members:
“The Council discussed the success of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the related distribution of revenues from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the International Federations (IFs). The IFs recently received the first of three instalments which presents an increase from Tokyo 2020.
“The Council agreed that now is the time to review and update the IF revenue grouping criteria ahead of the LA28 Olympic Games and recommended that the IOC should once again lead this process. This is important with the inclusion of three new IFs into the revenue distribution scheme, namely the International Federation of Sport Climbing, the International Surfing Association and World Skate.”
The IFs received the same amount – $540 million – from the IOC for Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● “What I loved about it was the way the whole city was engaged. What’s the secret sauce in that?”
That’s Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, speaking to Reuters last week during a break in meetings with French officials who were involved in the support of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She recognized the challenges ahead for 2028:
“It was an incredible experience. Now it’s time to get busy. The city’s dirty, graffiti everywhere, we’ve got to deal with the homeless issue, all of those issues. And you can’t do every street in the city. So where do you prioritize?
“One thing that’s drastically different with L.A. versus Paris is the size and the density. Paris is a smaller geographic area. Our sprawl is one of our advantages, but one of our challenges too. How do you create this sense of Olympic spirit citywide?”
She said she is confident in the outcome for Los Angeles. “Not cocky, but confident.”
● International Federations ● The International Olympic Committee’s vision of the future includes esports, and in a big way:
“Whatever our views are on esports and gaming, the numbers speak for themselves. Globally, there are well over 3 billion people familiar with gaming, a figure that continues to grow by the day. While in 2021, the global gaming live-streaming audience was just around 800 million people, this figure will grow to 1.5 billion spectators next year. These are all young people.
“We cannot ignore these staggering numbers. They make it crystal clear: if we want to continue to be relevant in the lives of young people, if we want to continue to inspire the next generation with our Olympic values – then we have to go to where the young people are. Therefore, to be ‘future-ready’ also means: we have to go to esports.”
That’s from IOC Vice President Nicole Hoevertsz (ARU), speaking during the first day of the three-day IF Forum in Lausanne, Switzerland, emphasizing that the IOC has already undertaken the creation of an IOC Esports Games, with the first edition to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2025.
She repeated the IOC’s insistence on the continued adherence to “Olympic values” in the choice of games to be contested, and the preference for games which are already available in cooperation with an existing Olympic-sport International Federation.
● Football ● A two-page letter with three more pages of signatures ripped FIFA for its sponsorship agreement with the Saudi-owned Aramco energy giant announced in April.
The letter, posted on the activist Athletes of the World Web site, starts with the headline, “Aramco sponsorship is a middle finger to women’s football” and includes:
● “FIFA’s announcement of Saudi Aramco as its ‘major’ partner has set us so far back that it’s hard to fully take in. Saudi Aramco is the main money-pump for Saudi Arabia, and is 98.5 % state-owned. Saudi authorities have been spending billions in sports sponsorship to try to distract from the regime’s brutal human rights reputation, but its treatment of women speaks for itself.”
● “The Saudi authorities trample not only on the rights of women, but on the freedom of all other citizens too. Imagine LGBTQ+ players, many of whom are heroes of our sport, being expected to promote Saudi Aramco during the 2027 World Cup, the national oil company of a regime that criminalises the relationships that they are in and the values they stand for?”
● “We urge FIFA to reconsider this partnership and replace Saudi Aramco with alternative sponsors whose values align with gender equality, human rights and the safe future of our planet. We also propose the establishment of a review committee with player representation, to evaluate the ethical implications of future sponsorship deals and ensure they align with our sport’s values and goals.”
The letter closes with “We deserve so much better from our governing body than its allyship with this nightmare sponsor,” and follows with 106 signatures, including former U.S. Women’s National Team captain Becky Sauerbrunn.
FIFA said in a statement to The Associated Press, “FIFA values its partnership with Aramco and its many others commercial and rights partners. FIFA is an inclusive organisation with many commercial partners also supporting other organizations in football and other sports.”
After holding its 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, FIFA will confirm in December the hosting of the 2034 FIFA World Cup in Saudi Arabia, the only candidate for the event.
● Swimming ● Swimming Australia announced an agreement with World Aquatics for changes to the organization that will satisfy the continuing World Aquatics concerns over governance, including an agreement for “50 per cent of voting rights will be split between the clubs and athletes, with clubs gaining 30 per cent of the voting rights and 20 per cent for the athletes.”
The remaining 50% of the voting rights will be for the current Swimming Australia member organizations (40%), Swimming Australia affiliate members (5%) and any World Aquatics Bureau members (5%).
The announcement noted, “Swimming Australia maintains its membership status with World Aquatics and confirms athletes will continue to compete under the Australian flag, despite media reports to the contrary late last week and there is no change to funding.”
● Table Tennis ● Brazil dominated the Pan American Championships in San Salvador (ESA), winning three titles and reaching the final in a fourth.
Brazil’s Hugo Calderano swept the men’s final against countryman Vitor Ishiy, 4-0, but Brazil’s Bruna Takahashi lost in the women’s final against Adriana Diaz (PUR) by 4-2. It’s Calderano’s fifth Pan Am title and fourth in a row, and the sixth individual gold for Diaz.
Calderano came back for more in the Mixed Doubles, with Takahashi, to win, 3-0, over fellow Brazilians Guilherme Teodoro and Bruna’s sister, Giulia Takahashi. In the women’s Doubles, Guilia Takahashi and Laura Watanabe were 3-0 winners over Paulina Vega and Daniela Ortega (CHI).
Argentina’s Horacio Cifuentes and Santiago Lorenzo won the men’s Doubles with a 3-0 sweep of Andy Pereira and Jorge Campos (PUR).
In the team events, the U.S. defeated Argentina in the men’s final, and Cuba won the women’s final over Chile.
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