Reports yesterday (Thursday) that Morocco had withdrawn from hosting the competition due to fears over the Ebola crisis were denied by local authorities, who instead stated they remain keen on postponing the event, but retaining the hosting rights for a later date.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF), which is still to publicly comment on the matter, is now said to have approached Ghana and South Africa about hosting its showpiece event next year. Speaking at a press conference in Johannesburg today (Friday), South African Football Association (SAFA) president Danny Jordaan said his organisation had received a letter from CAF asking it to consider the potential hosting the tournament after African football’s governing body rejected Morocco’s request to postpone the event.
In the event of Morocco formally withdrawing from the tournament, Jordaan said that SAFA would consult with the South African government over whether stepping in would be feasible. Meanwhile, Ghana’s Youth and Sports minister Mahama Ayariga confirmed his country had also been approached by CAF.
“CAF wrote to us and indicated that Morocco had given strong indications they would pull out if CAF did not change the date,” Ayariga told Ghanaian radio station Citi FM. “CAF also indicated that it was firm on the tournament dates, but they would meet the Moroccan authorities and take a decision at that meeting. But in the meantime they are writing to a number of countries that they think have the capacity to be an alternative venue… in the event of Morocco actually pulling out.”
Earlier this week, CAF insisted that the 2015 Cup of Nations would go ahead as planned despite a request from Morocco to postpone the event due to the deadly Ebola outbreak. The 2015 Cup of Nations is due to take place in Morocco from January 17 to February 8. However, Moroccan health officials fear the tournament could trigger a spread of the virus, which has claimed about 4,500 lives since its outbreak in West Africa at the beginning of the year.
Morocco’s Youth and Sports Minister Mohamed Ouzzine said on Thursday his country had not withdrawn as the host, but reiterated that the government would follow guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“Our concern is the health of Africa, and based on WHO reports and guidelines, we have to listen,” Ouzzine said, according to UK broadcaster the BBC. “Zero safety does not exist, but one has to take the necessary precautions so that the coming tournament will be a football feast, bringing together our African brothers, but given the current Ebola situation we don’t think such a feast can take place as expected.
“We are talking about the Africa Cup of Nations where we are expecting between 200,000 to 400,000, even one million spectators to converge in Morocco. I don’t think there is any state or any country that has the necessary capabilities to monitor, check and control the current Ebola situation when faced with these numbers. This is our real problem. We don’t have a problem with visiting teams. We have a problem with visitors.”
South Africa hosted the previous edition of the competition in 2013, switching hosting rights with Libya due to the civil war in the latter country. Libya was due to host the 2017 tournament instead but recently withdrew its staging rights due to ongoing security concerns. Ghana last hosted the event in 2008.
Reports have claimed that any withdrawal by Morocco at this late stage could be met with severe sanctions from CAF. However, Ouzzine added: “If there are fears about the loss of funding and financial commitments, we can always find solutions to these issues – but today is not the day to discuss these things.
“We will discuss these things when we meet with CAF and we might even debate other options. But I beg you, what’s the significance of the financial losses compared to human losses? A human being is priceless. I can tell you that we will reach a definite decision during our meeting with our brothers from CAF.”
Prior to the latest reports, CAF said that the situation will be addressed at its next Executive Committee meeting on November 2, stating that a further meeting will be held between the confederation and Moroccan officials in Rabat on the following day.
Blog
-
Morocco at centre of confusion over 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
-
Almaty chasing private investment for Olympic Games bid
The Tengrinews website said Kazakhstan’s Vice-Minister of Culture and Sport, Tastanbekov Yesentai, cited the example of this year’s winter Olympics in Sochi, where the Russia authorities successfully implemented a mixed funding model and also pointed towards Tokyo’s projected revenues for the 2020 summer Olympics as arguments in favour of his government’s approach.
Yesentai said: “Russia has used a mixed model at the Olympics in Sochi. Their income made $10bn (€7.9bn). Japan has officially declared that it would be able to earn $30bn from hosting the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in 2020.
“We also want to stick to the mixed model of financial management, in which the share of state involvement would be 33 per cent and the rest will be raised by investors. In that case we will be able to hold the Olympics in 2022 at a proper level.”
Concerns regarding state financing for hosting the 2022 winter Olympics have become a central theme of what is now a sparse bidding process.
Almaty and Beijing are the only two cities left in the running after Oslo withdrew from the race at the start of this month. The Norwegian government decided against providing the required financial support to host the multi-sport event due to prohibitive projected costs.
Oslo was the latest in a long line of cities to end a bid, following Stockholm in Sweden, Krakow in Poland and Lviv in Ukraine, while bids from St. Moritz in Switzerland and Munich in Germany were scrapped after public referendums.
Meanwhile, Kazakh Olympic Committee vice-president Pavel Novikov has rejected calls for Almaty to share Olympic hosting rights with Astana, acknowledging Olympic bidding rules that the Games must be awarded to a single city.
The International Olympic Committee will select the host city for the 2022 Games on July 31, 2015. -
Las Vegas and Madrid in F1 race talks
F1 failed to secure the necessary backing to make the temporary track developed in the car park of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas a permanent fixture on its calendar following races in the US city in 1981 and 1982.
Hermann Tilke, the designer responsible for the majority of new circuits developed for Formula One in recent years has made numerous recent visits to Las Vegas with a view to developing a race venue, according to UK newspaper the Independent, and Ecclestone is set to hold discussions over adding a second US race to the F1 season on his way to next weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
“There is a consortium in Las Vegas that wants to arrange a race. They are very serious and want me to go out there on the way to Texas so we will see,” he told the Autoweek.com website.
Ecclestone added that casino impresario Steve Wynn and Cirque du Soleil co-founder Guy Laliberte – both counted by the 83-year-old as personal friends – are not members of the interested consortium.
As opposed to the USA, where home-based motor racing series such as Nascar and IndyCar hold sway, Spain represents an important market for F1 following the rise of Fernando Alonso and, according to the El Confidencial newspaper, Ecclestone is also in negotiations with a group of businessmen to stage a street race in the country’s capital.
El Confidencial added that the F1 chief has received bank guarantees and a detailed business plan. The proposed race would rely exclusively on private funding, and the group aims to secure financial assurances and Ecclestone’s backing ahead of going before the local authorities.
Barcelona’s has staged the Spanish Grand Prix since 1991, with its contract running through until the 2016 season. Spain staged two races per season between 2008 and 2012, with the European Grand Prix held on a street circuit in Valencia.
The additions of new races in consecutive years in Mexico City and Baku means Formula One is set to have 21 rounds by 2016. -
LPGA to take International Crown to Korea
The International Crown was formed as a national team matchplay tournament and its inaugural edition was held in Owings Mills, Maryland from July 24-27, at Caves Valley Golf Club.
The next edition of the biennial event had already been confirmed for Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois in 2016. However, the LPGA has said the 2018 International Crown will be staged in Korea, with dates and a host venue to be confirmed at a later point.
Korea is a key market for the LPGA with the second-most players, 41, represented from the nation in the world rankings. World No.2 Inbee Park is one of three Koreans in the top-10.
“The Republic of Korea has clearly demonstrated their support for the LPGA by hosting 18 different tournaments over the years with tremendous fan support.” LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said. “It made perfect sense that the first time we take the International Crown outside of the United States was to a country with so many dedicated fans and supporters of women’s golf.”
The announcement has coincided with safety consulting and certification company Underwriters Laboratories signing on as the first title sponsor of the International Crown, in a deal spanning the 2016 and 2018 events.
UL served as an ambassador sponsor for the inaugural International Crown, which saw Team Spain crowned the event’s first champion.
Whan added: “When we came up with the idea for the International Crown our goal was to launch a truly global event for women’s golf which we did earlier this year at Caves Valley Golf Club. We were looking for a partner to help grow it globally and I can think of no better partner than UL, whose business aligns perfectly with the LPGA.” -
Glasgow 2014 Rugby Sevens wins Event of the Year
The Rugby Sevens tournament at Glasgow 2014 was named best Rugby event of 2014 by industry experts on Wednesday at Rugby Expo 2014.
The event beat off competition from the Women’s Rugby World Cup in August, hosted by France and the Super League Magic Weekend in May which featured seven matches and 14 elite teams competing at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.
“Rugby Sevens as a sport was born in Scotland, so it’s really wonderful to see Glasgow and Scotland’s Commonwealth Games showcase for the sport recognised as the top rugby event this year,” said David Grevemberg, Chief Executive of Glasgow 2014.
Glasgow’s two-day extravaganza at Ibrox stadium saw 16 of the world’s top Rugby Sevens sides battle it out for Commonwealth Gold in front of 171,000 people – a new global record tournament audience for the sport.
Around 192 athletes contested 45 matches over two days of fierce competition which saw South Africa clinch Gold for the first time in Commonwealth Games history, beating New Zealand, winners of every previous Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens Gold medal since the sport was introduced to the Games in 1998.
“The two days of Rugby Sevens at Ibrox were remarkable and memorable not just for the incredible sport but also for the sheer energy and enthusiasm generated by the crowds. We’re really proud to have played our part in sharing Rugby Sevens with new audiences,” said Grevemberg.
“This award is for the amazing athletes and the wonderful crowds which supported them as well as the world-beating experience of Rugby Seven they all helped create at Glasgow 2014.”
Rugby Expo 2014 is an important gathering for the industry which is supported by leading bodies including Premiership Rugby, RFU, SRU, WRU, Pro12 and Championship.
David Grevemberg, who is also the CEO designate of the Commonwealth Games Federation, is speaking at HOST CITY Bid to Win conference on 28th October about “Winning for the Future” alongside city event leaders from Beijing, Barcelona and Istanbul. -
IOC seeks more inclusive approach to Olympic bid process
Bach wants the often criticised bidding framework to be transformed into an “invitation for discussions and partnership” as opposed to a generic tender process.
Recent struggles with the selection process for the 2022 winter Olympic Games have cast the current method in an unfavourable light.
Only Beijing, China and the Kazakh city of Almaty remain as candidates after Oslo this month became the latest potential host to drop out the running. Norway’s government opted out of providing the necessary financial support to host the multi-sport showpiece amid concern over prohibitive costs.
Oslo followed Lviv in Ukraine, Krakow in Poland and Stockholm in Sweden by pulling out of the race for the 2022 winter Olympics, while public referendums put paid to bids from Munich in Germany and St Moritz in Switzerland.
At its two-day meeting in Montreux, Switzerland, the IOC executive finalised proposals that its full membership will vote on this December in Monaco.
As quoted by the Associated Press news agency, Bach said: “What we did in the past was send out a paper at a certain point in time saying, ‘If you want to bid for the games, here are the conditions you have to fulfil, so you better tick all the boxes in the questionnaire because otherwise you have no chance.
“In the future, we want to invite potential bidding cities to study how Olympic Games would fit best into their social, sports, economic and ecological environments, then present this plan to us. Then we are ready to discuss and give our advice rather than just judge what has been presented to us.”
One measure rejected under Agenda 2020 was the reinstatement of member visits to candidate cities, which were barred in light of the 1999 vote-buying scandal that marred Salt Lake City’s successful bid for the 2002 winter Olympics.
In other news, Israeli company International Security & Defence Systems (ISDS) claims it has secured the contract to plan and coordinate security arrangements at the Rio 2016 Games under a deal worth $2.2bn (€1.7bn).
ISDS vice-president Ron Shafran told IsraelDefense magazine of the firm’s tie-up with the local organising committee. ISDS has previous Olympic experience at Barcelona 1992 and Sydney 2000, while it also worked on the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa.
IOC Vice President Sir Craig Reedie will discuss bidding procedure with other rights holders and cities at HOST CITY: Bid to Win in London on 28th October. Register at www.bidtowin-hostcity.net -
Euro 2016 host cities agree funding deal with Uefa
Half of the money is set to be released for immediate use, with the remaining €10m handed over when the tournament concludes. Uefa’s additional funding package will be used to develop new sports facilities close to the urban populations of the host cities. The funds will not be directed towards stadium development for Euro 2016, the cost of which is currently estimated to stand at €1.7bn.
A resolution to the contentious issue of host cities seeking additional financial support was reached at a meeting of the Euro 2016 steering group in Bordeaux. According to French newspaper L’Equipe, Uefa initially offered no additional funding as the cities aimed to secure €10m each.
Quoted on Uefa.com, Alain Juppé, Mayor of Bordeaux and president of the Club des sites – the host cities’ association – pointed out that an allocation of tickets for underprivileged youngsters will further enhance the social benefit of Euro 2016.
He said: “It is a gesture from Uefa following our request and is designed to facilitate the social acceptability of the event. The 10 cities are full of enthusiasm and approved this proposal unanimously. I wish to stress that beyond this €20m, Uefa will rent the stadiums throughout the competition and has decided to allocate 20,000 tickets to underprivileged young people. The help given will probably amount to around €50m.”
Uefa president Michel Platini was pleased to have reached a satisfactory conclusion to the dispute.
“Any potential misunderstandings have been resolved,” he said. “Everything is fine and we are all satisfied. I am very happy, particularly because not since 1998, when I was co-president of the organising committee of the (Fifa) World Cup in France, have we felt the love and desire that exists for Uefa Euro 2016.”
Lens, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris, Saint-Denis, St-Etienne and Toulouse will join Bordeaux in hosting matches at Euro 2016 – the first edition of the tournament since Uefa decided to increase the number of teams at the finals from 16 to 24.
Uefa announced last month that Wembley Stadium in London will host the semi-final and final of Euro 2020 as part of a one-off staging model for the event. -
Rio Olympics organisers have no fear over venue completion
Rio’s venues will be ready to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016, despite the slow start to construction, the event’s communications director said at Host City: Bid to Win on Tuesday.
“There is not a chance in the world that Rio will not be ready venue wise,” said Mario Andrada, executive director of communications, Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic games.
“The construction of the Barra Olympic park is coming off the ground and the whole Olympic village will be ready around mid-2015,” Andrada said.
The comments were made at Host City’s unique Bid to Win event in London, where event organisers, bidding committees and rights holders were able to discuss issues related to bidding for major sports and cultural events.
Many observers have questioned Rio’s ability to meet its obligations for the 2016 games.
Long-term legacy issues underpin investment plans for Olympic construction projects and Rio intends to transform areas of the city using the Games as a catalyst, by using a mixture of public and private investment.
“This [the Barra Olympic Village] is a private enterprise and after the Games will be sold as condos – and there has been a complete redesign of the transport system in the area.”
Andrada explained the reasons why certain aspects of its Olympic Games preparations have been called into question.
“The Deodoro was a little late but we are now moving ahead and catching up. It is important to know in our case the bar is set really high following London but we have to mindful of our spending and our obligations to the Brazilian people. This is one of the reasons why we started the Deodoro a little late,” Andrada explained. -
CEV assigns host nations for 2017 European Championships
Poland recently hosted the 2014 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) World Championship to great acclaim and will stage the 2017 men’s tournament across four cities. Six cities – Bydgoszcz, Gdansk, Lodz, Katowice, Krakow and Wroclaw – have been shortlisted.
Poland’s last and only gold medal at the men’s European Championship dates back to the 2009 edition held in Turkey. Polish Volleyball Federation and CEV vice-president Miroslaw Przedpelski said that plans are in place to host the final match at Warsaw’s National Stadium – the same venue that hosted the opening match of this year’s FIVB World Championships in front of a record-breaking crowd of more than 61,000.
For the women’s event, Baku and Guba will host games in Azerbaijan alongside Georgia’s capital, Tblisi. It will be the first time the CEV’s flagship event will travel to the two countries.
The CEV also revealed hosts for other events in 2016 and 2017 at its general assembly in Antalya, Turkey. The 2016 Beach Volleyball European Championship Final will take place in Biel/Bienne in Switzerland, while the 2016 women’s U19 European Championship will be co-hosted by Slovakia and Hungary in the cities of Nitra and Gyor, respectively.
Hungary and Slovakia will also organise the 2017 men’s U19 European Championship, with Puchov in Slovakia joining Gyor in Hungary as a host city.
CEV president André Meyer said that the bidding process for the 2019 and 2021 editions of the European Championships would be opened in the coming weeks. This is a change of strategy aimed at providing the eventual organisers with more time to prepare for hosting the events. -
Olympic bidding process is too long, say bid leaders
Members of the panel “Bidding Processes Under Review” at Host City: Bid to Win in London on Tuesday highlighted the first stage of the bidding process for the Olympic Games as being too long and raising expectations and costs at too early a stage.
“It is the first process that needs to be reduced and then six months before the decision the bid should be formally placed,” said Stefan Lindeberg, president of the Swedish Olympic Committee.
Stockholm dropped its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic in January 2014 when senior politicians and city officials baulked at the rising estimated cost of hosting the games.
“The bid process has become an expensive competition and not because of the IOC requirements but because the bidding process is too long,” said Antonio Fernandez Arimany, director general, International Triathlon Union and former bid leader of Madrid 2016.
“The bidding process is too long and you spend the maximum resources on that bid – this could be reviewed,” he said.
The panel included Sir Craig Reedie, vice president of the International Olympic Committee. “It is possible to revise the bidding process, but is difficult to tell cities what they may and may not do and then enforce this, because if the city is determined to win a prize they will go beyond what the IOC requires,” he said.
“The value of the prize is so enormous.”
Members of the panel identified non-organising committee costs, such as civic infrastructure projects that are often associated with a Games bid, as a source of unwelcome spikes in expenses. These infrastructure projects often bring benefits beyond the Games.
“It seems to me the IOC faces a communication gap,” said Reedie.
“We seem to find it impossible to get anyone to understand that there are two separate budgets; one for the organising committee and one for the non-organising committee.
“The organising committee [of London 2012] made a modest surplus but the non-organising committee cost is the result of the Games being used as a catalyst to develop the host city.”
The cost of hosting the Games has come under unprecedented scrutiny since revelations about Sochi’s expenditure on infrastructure projects associated with hosting the Games.
“At no time did we invite Sochi in Russia to make a USD 51bn contribution,” said Reedie.
The bidding procedure for the Olympic Games is currently under review, through the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020 initiative. 40 recommendation have been made to the IOC Executive Board. The recommendations will be presented, discussed and voted upon by IOC members at the 127th IOC session in Monaco on 8 and 9 December.
Host City: Bid to Win was held in London on 28 October 2014 and acted as a unique dialogue platform between cities and rights holders.