SAFA welcomes IOC decision to postpone 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

24 March 2020 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) welcomes the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games in the face of coronavirus pandemic. “This is the time for decisive action and...

Coronavirus: Olympic doubts grow as Canada withdraws athletes

23 March 2020 – The 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo have been thrown into further doubt after Canada became the first major country to withdraw. Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, has admitted for the first time that the games could be...

Letter from President Thomas Bach OLY to athletes

Dear Fellow Athletes, In this unprecedented crisis we are all united. Like you, we are very much concerned about what the COVID-19 pandemic is doing to people’s lives. Human lives take precedence over everything, including the staging of the Games. The IOC wants to be...

TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC FLAME ARRIVES IN JAPAN

20 March 2020 – THE OLYMPIC FLAME FOR TOKYO 2020 TOUCHED DOWN IN JAPAN EARLY ON FRIDAY TO START ITS 121-DAY OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY JOURNEY AROUND THE COUNTRY, BRINGING A MESSAGE OF PEACE AND HOPE TO THE WORLD. The flame was transported by a special aircraft “Tokyo...

OLYMPIC FLAME HANDOVER CEREMONY DELIVERS MESSAGE OF HOPE

20 March 2020 – THE SCALED-DOWN CEREMONY IN ATHENS FEATURED GOLD MEDALLISTS, EMOTIONAL ADDRESSES AND A MESSAGE OF HOPE AND UNITY, WITH THE FLAME NOW SET TO TRAVEL TO JAPAN. THE OLYMPIC FLAG WAS RAISED, AND THE NATIONAL ANTHEMS OF JAPAN AND GREECE SOUNDED, AS THE...