Sports

Japan Insists Tokyo Olympics Will Go On

Published

5 years ago

January 22, 2021

Eric

Japan doubled down on its commitment to host the Tokyo Olympics this year and flatly denied reports on Friday of a cancellation, in a move that is unlikely to temper public fears of holding the event during a global pandemic.

Though much of Japan is under a state of emergency due to a third wave of COVID-19 infections, Tokyo organisers have consistently vowed to press ahead with the Games scheduled to open on July 23 after having been postponed in March last year.

A government spokesman said there was “no truth” to a report in The Times that Japan was now focused on rescheduling the event to 2032.

“We will clearly deny the report,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Manabu Sakai said in a press conference on Friday.

The Tokyo 2020 organising committee also denied the report, saying its partners including the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee were “fully focused” on hosting the games as scheduled.

In early international reactions, the Australian and U.S. Olympic Committees said they were preparing for the Games as planned.

“Unfortunately, I need to address unfounded rumours that the Tokyo Olympic Games will be cancelled, rumours that only create more anxiety for athletes,” Matt Carroll, the chief executive of the Australian committee, told reporters in Sydney on Friday.

“The Tokyo Games are on. The flame will be lit on July 23, 2021.”

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is run by the IOC’s pointman for the Tokyo Games John Coates.

Olympic committees from the U.S. and Canada wrote on Twitter they had not received any information suggesting the Games would not happen as planned.

Japan has been hit less severely by the pandemic than many other advanced economies, but a recent surge in cases has forced it to close its borders to non-resident foreigners and declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and major cities.

About 80 per cent of people in Japan do not want the Games to be held this summer, recent opinion polls show, over fears the influx of athletes will spread the virus further.

In an interview ahead of Friday’s report, Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said he was cautiously hopeful that successful rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines could help lead to the safe staging of the world’s largest sporting event.

The Olympic Games represents a major milestone for Japan and its premier, Yoshihide Suga, who has said the event would bring “hope and courage” to the world. Suga reiterated on Friday that it would go ahead as planned.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach reaffirmed his commitment to holding the Games this year in an interview with Kyodo News on Thursday.

“We have at this moment, no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on the 23rd of July in the Olympic stadium in Tokyo,” Bach told Kyodo.

NAN

Sports

Luka Modric’s World Cup Story Ends, Cristiano Ronaldo Gets Lifeline

Published

1 day ago

July 3, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

It was an emotional encounter as two of world’s best footballers; Luca Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo squared against each other in a bid to lay their hands on the coveted World Cup trophy when Portugal met Croatia in the round of 32. But after about 97minutes of play time, the World Cup story of Modric came to am abrupt end while Ronaldo gets a lifeline, proceeding to the Round of 16.

Both Ronaldo and Modric are not likely to feature in another World Cup tournament.

Portugal battled into the last 16 of the World Cup with a drama-filled 2-1 victory over Croatia on Thursday to set up a titanic showdown with European champions Spain.

In another nerve-shredding World Cup classic, Goncalo Ramos headed Portugal into the lead in the fourth minute of stoppage time before Croatia saw a last-gasp equaliser agonisingly ruled out for offside in Toronto.

Portugal’s 41-year-old superstar captain Cristiano Ronaldo had helped haul his team back into the contest, burying a 68th-minute penalty to cancel out Croatia’s 53rd-minute opener from Ivan Perisic.

Ronaldo later joined frenzied celebrations after Ramos glanced home a sensational header deep into injury time to give Portugal the lead.

But Ronaldo and his Portugal team-mates were left stunned when Josko Gvardiol prodded home an apparent equaliser in stoppage time.

Yet there was one final twist when the goal was chalked off for offside after a lengthy VAR review to the disbelief of Croatia’s players and their large contingent of fans at Toronto’s BMO Field.

After the final whistle, an emotional Ronaldo held up and pulled on a Portugal shirt bearing the number 21, a tribute to late team-mate Diogo Jota, the Liverpool star who tragically died in a car crash almost a year to the day from Thursday’s win, on July 3 last year.

“We knew it before the game. It was a so special moment. We speak today, our group, about that, the coincidence of life, it’s unbelievable,” Ronaldo said afterwards of the tribute to Jota.

“I was amazed because the situation of today. It means a lot to us, not only because we won the game, but the also the way we won the game. It was a difficult game, we knew it.”

The result ensures that Ronaldo’s incredible World Cup career will be extended for at least one more match when the Portuguese face Iberian rivals Spain in the last 16 in Dallas on Monday.

Ronaldo’s second-half penalty made him the oldest man to score in a World Cup knockout match.

Spain romp past Austria

Spain had advanced to that meeting with a scintillating 3-0 win over Austria in Los Angeles earlier Friday that confirmed their status as one of the favourites for the title.

Two goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and a Pedro Porro header sealed victory for the Spaniards, who produced their most complete performance of the tournament to advance to the next round.

Spain opened their World Cup campaign with a faltering 0-0 draw against Cape Verde, but have subsequently built momentum with each match.

AFP

Sports

Ronaldo Celebrates Saudi Pro League Win with Al-Nassr

Published

1 month ago

May 22, 2026

Eric

Al Nassr captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has finally won the Saudi Pro League title.

They were confirmed champions on Thursday, thanks to a 4-2 drubbing of relegation battlers, Damac.

The title race had gone down to the final day after Al-Nassr dramatically dropped points against Al-Hilal the previous week.

Jorge Jesus’ side knew there could be no mistakes against a Damac side fighting for survival at the other end of the table.

Ronaldo was on the scoresheet, as his brace helped Al Nassr secure the title ahead of rivals Al Hilal.

Sports

FIFA Lists Six Females Among 52 Referees for 2026 World Cup

Published

3 months ago

April 10, 2026

Eric

FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.

Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.

“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.

“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.

“In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed.”

The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the biggest in history, with a 48-team line-up and 104 matches to be played.

There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.

“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.

AFP