NEWSLETTER 27 NOVEMBER:
HIGH AMBITIONS FOR NEW INTERNATIONAL VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION
1) High ambitions for new international volleyball federation
2) New FIABVB president will be watched closely
3) FIABVB’s credibility challenge from within
4) Danish professional cyclist tells all about his doping use in the 1990’s
5) FIFA punishes Iran’s government for interfering in football6) Kenya’s sport minister acted in excess of his power, says court
7) Former UN weapons inspector to watch over skiing ethics
8) Islamic leaders in Somalia tighten control over athletes
9) The UN adopts new action plan for sport and development
10) Football fans beat up two journalists in Argentina
1) High ambitions for new international volleyball federation
The symbolism was hard to miss when about 25 volleyball representatives met at a brand new hotel on an artificial island in Copenhagen to found a new international volleyball federation. Here a brand new world federation was founded by people who over the years have felt put out on an island and isolated by the International Volleyball Federation, FIVB.
2) New FIABVB president will be watched closely
Jean-Pierre Seppey may be the president-elect of the new international volleyball federation but members in the new federation will be watching him closely as many of them have been engaged in bitter fights with Seppey when he was secretary general of the FIVB.
3) FIABVB’s credibility challenge from within
The new international volleyball federation does not only face hard resistance from the old one, but must also overcome challenges on the inside in order to present a real alternative, writes Play the Game’s director, Jens Sejer Andersen, in this editorial comment.
4) Danish professional cyclist tells all about his doping use in the 1990’s
Former Danish cyclist Jesper Skibby has admitted to doping during his professional career in the 1990’s. The confession came in an autobiography published last week where he reveals all about his doping use but does not say who supplied the drugs and helped him avoid testing positive.
5) FIFA punishes Iran’s government for interfering in football
Iran did not do very well at the recent World Cup in football, so Iran’s government promptly decided to fire the football federation’s president and the entire board and install a new president. Now FIFA has responded by banning Iran from international competitions.
6) Kenya’s sports minister acted in excess of his powers, says court
Within the space of one short week, the High Court in Kenya has overturned the sport minister’s attempts to dissolve Kenya’s Football Federation (KFF), and KFF officials have suspended the KFF president and fired its secretary general.
7) Former UN weapons inspector to watch over skiing ethics
Ethics has also become a focal point for the International Ski Federation (FIS). The FIS Council has decided to set up a new Ethics Commission and has appointer former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix as its first member.
8) Islamic leaders in Somalia tightens control over athletes
In Somalia, the Islamic rulers have decreed that no sports team or individual athlete can leve the country without a letter of permission from the Islamic Courts Union, and recently the national football team was told by clerics to “defeat Catholic Ethiopia” or not return home from an international tournament.
9) The UN adopts new action plan for sport and development
The United Nation’s General Assembly has unanimously backed a new three year action plan to incorporate sport into development programmes.
10) Football fans beat up two journalists in Argentina
Two Argentine sports journalists have been beaten up by football fans and were only rescued when police opened the doors into a changing room to allow them an escape.
