Sport
1st April
Japan, IOC set July 23 next year for start of delayed Olympics
TOKYO (Reuters) – The postponed Olympic Games will now begin on July 23 next year and run until Aug. 8, the head of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee said on Monday, as the coronavirus pandemic...
Rugby – No switch to dates for Lions tour despite Olympics clash
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – The British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa in July 2021 will not be shifted despite a direct overlap with the new dates for the Tokyo Olympic Games that were announced on Monday. The Olympics have been pushed back a year due to the global coronavirus pandemic and will now...
Factbox: Sports events around the world hit by coronavirus pandemic
OLYMPICS * The postponed Olympic Games will now begin on July 23, 2021 and run until Aug. 8, Yoshiro Mori, head of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, has said. OLYMPIC TRIALS * U.S. trials for wrestling (April 4-5) were postponed. * U.S. Rowing postponed its team trials. * U.S. diving trials (April 3-5) were postponed....
Messi announces additional Barca pay cut to help employees
BARCELONA (Reuters) – Barcelona players will make an extra contribution on top of the 70% pay cut they have agreed to take during the enforced La Liga break so that the club’s other employees can earn their full salaries during the coronavirus crisis, captain Lionel Messi said. The club’s all-time top scorer was among many...
Dates in summer 2022 being sought for 2021 world championships
(Reuters) – Athletics’ world championships have been postponed until the summer of 2022 and the global governing body is seeking new dates for the event in Eugene, Oregon that was originally scheduled for 2021. “100% Oregon will be held summer 2022,” a World Athletics spokesman told Reuters on Monday. World Athletics had earlier said in...
31st March
British authorities suspend Saunders’ boxing licence
(Reuters) – WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders had his licence suspended by Britain’s boxing authorities on Monday after a social media post in which he advised men how to hit their female partners during the coronavirus lockdown. The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) said in a statement that Saunders’ licence would be...
UEFA to discuss Champions League fate in Wednesday meeting
(Reuters) – UEFA will discuss the fate of this season’s Champions League and its other competitions that have been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic in a video conference meeting on Wednesday, European soccer’s governing body said in a statement. All UEFA competitions have been halted because of the flu-like virus that has killed around...
Hospital beds replace astroturf at Welsh rugby stadium
LLANELLI, Wales (Reuters) – Workers were laying floors and connecting electricity sockets on an expanse of astroturf on Monday as they raced to create a hospital for patients with COVID-19 inside a Welsh professional rugby team’s training facility. With the sporting calendar blank for an indefinite period due to a national lockdown, the Scarlets have...
Athletes urged to work together
ATHLETES of the Pacific have been urged to work together and be resilient in the fight against COVID-19. With sports being cancelled globally and the region, Oceania National Olympic Commitees, the body overseeing regional sports, has reassured athletes of its help and encouragement during this unprecedented time. Chairperson of the ONOC Athletes Commission Karo Lelai...
Lakhan calls for support from Pacific family
THE Pacific Games Council president, Vidya Lakhan, is pondering on the implications of the official announcement by the International Olympic Committee in postponing the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic to the 2021 Pacific Mini Games. “The decision by the International Olympic Committee to defer the 2020 Tokyo...
Feeney favours Fiji team
FORMER Fiji rugby assistant coach Paul Feeney is calling for the Fiji 7s team to keep its playing style as they prepare for delayed 2020 Olympic Games in Japan. The games have been postponed to probably next July because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeney, who helped former Fiji coach Wayne Pivac win the 2005 Rugby...
USA Rugby in limbo
USA Rugby had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as the COVID-19 sporting shutdown has tipped their already precarious financial position over the edge. The organisation announced via a press release its intent to file for bankruptcy “as a result of compounded and insurmountable financial constraints”. “The current suspension of sanctioned rugby activities caused by...
Fiji FA adamant to complete 2020 season
Fiji Football Association (FFA) is adamant to complete the 2020 season despite the uncertainty regarding the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic will have in the country. Sporting competitions have been banned by the Government until further notice. Fiji FA chief executive officer Mohammed Yusuf said the cancellation of the Fiji FACT would mean a major...
U.S. Open venue to host 350-bed temporary hospital amid coronavirus pandemic
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A portion of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is set to transform into a 350-bed temporary hospital on Tuesday, the USTA said, as the coronavirus outbreak strains resources in New York City, which as been dramatically affected by the pandemic. The site of the U.S. Open and the crown...
Time to pay back to the sport that save players
Fijians in the Highlanders team are simply fortunate to be in an industry that has a chance of surviving the coronavirus crisis, says head coach Aaron Mauger. The former Crusaders and All Black midfielder delivered a much-needed dose of realism to the deep pay cuts coming in rugby. Jona Nareki, Kiri Kuridrani and Tevita Nabura...
Veidreyaki: Tokyo Games deferment a blessing in disguise
Former Fiji 7s coach Peni Veidreyaki says the deferment of the Tokyo Olympics is a blessing in disguise for national coach Gareth Baber in his bid to defend the Olympics gold medal. Veidreyaki said it was time for the coach to formulate a winning combination. He said with the current health and safety situation because...
Sports events around the world hit by coronavirus pandemic
(Reuters) – Major sports events around the world that have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic: OLYMPICS – The International Olympic Committee and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe concluded the Tokyo 2020 Olympics must be postponed and held no later than the summer of 2021. OLYMPIC TRIALS – U.S. trials for wrestling (April 4-5) were...
Manchester City’s Gundogan says Liverpool deserve title if season cancelled
(Reuters) – Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan says it would only be “fair” for rivals Liverpool to be awarded the English Premier League trophy if the season cannot be completed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Gundogan told German broadcaster ZDF that Liverpool deserved to be crowned champions given their massive 25-point lead over second-placed City,...
30th March
FASANOC works closely with sporting organisations
FIJI Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee chief executive officer Lorrain Mar says they are working closely with national federations in the country as to how they might adapt to training during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The national federations are the experts for their sport, so FASANOC will consult and be guided by the NF...
COVID-19: FNRL to get pay cut
FIJI National Rugby League acting chief executive officer Don Natabe said they were ready to do their part in the fight to combat the COVID-19 pandemic for the the country. “Fiji National Sports Commission chairman Peter Mazey had indicated certain sporting grants would be reduced,” Natabe said. “The commission has also telephoned confirming the same,...
Delayed Tokyo Olympics likely to open in July 2021
TOKYO (Reuters) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japanese organisers are in final stages of talks to set the opening date for the Tokyo Games in July next year, Japanese media said. The Tokyo event, postponed last week due to the coronavirus pandemic, will most likely have its opening ceremony in 2021 on July...
England players set for pay cuts due to coronavirus crisis
(Reuters) – England’s cricket players must “realise the bigger picture” and will be expected to take a pay cut as the country’s cricket governing body (ECB) tries to deal with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, The Times here reported on Sunday. More than 662,700 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus across the world...
RFU ends season in England: except Premiership
LONDON (Reuters) – England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) on Friday confirmed the end of the 2019-20 season for all league, cup and county rugby in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic but the Premiership has been excluded. The RFU earlier this week suspended all rugby activity until April 14 while the Premiership halted the...
Reports: Bucs, DT Suh agree to one-year contract
Five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a one-year, $8 million contract, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday. Suh recorded 41 tackles, a career-low 2.5 sacks and four fumble recoveries in 16 games in 2019 during his first season with the Buccaneers. He also scored two touchdowns, the...
Motor racing: Self isolation makes training easier for Ricciardo
(Reuters) – Australian Daniel Ricciardo reckons self-isolation makes for a perfect training camp — although it helps to be on the family farm in western Australia with a swimming pool and some machinery to play with. Speaking in a live Instagram Q+A organized by his Renault Formula One team, the Australian talked about what he...
Davis Love III, wife escape fire that destroys home
(Reuters) – American golfer Davis Love III’s home was destroyed by an early morning fire in Georgia on Friday but the 21-time PGA Tour winner said he and his wife were not injured in the early morning blaze. “While everyone in our family is saddened at the loss of our home that was filled with...
29th March
Report: Almost ‘100 percent’ chance NBA resumes without fans
If the NBA regular season resumes, it is almost “100 percent” the games will be played without fans present, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Friday. Windhorst said the NBA will very likely mimic the plan being used in China for a potential end to the current hiatus, which began March 12. In China, ground zero for...
Athletics: Iran Olympic discus trailblazer Hadadi has coronavirus
(Reuters) – Ehsan Hadadi, Iran’s first Olympic track and field medalist, has tested positive for coronavirus, World Athletics reported on Saturday. Hadadi, the Asian discus champion who became a national hero when he won silver at the 2012 Olympics in London, has an athletics base in the U.S. but was at home in Tehran when...
Nemani reminisces football days
THE national football team first participated in the FIFA World Cup qualification in 1982, however the 1988 campaign against the Australian Socceroos, especially the first leg on November 26, 1988 that was played at Prince Charles Park in Nadi is etched in the annals of local football history books. The national football team was competing...
Nadolo ready, focuses on fatherhood
GIANT Fijian winger Nemani Nadolo and his wife Kim are expecting the arrival of their baby boy any time soon. The 32-year-old who recently have signed a two-year deal with Leicester Tiger next season after agreeing to terms with the club, is overwhelmed with excitement as he awaits the arrival of his first born. “Rugby...
