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US MAY BOYCOTT OLYMPIC GAMES
Like the US did 37 years ago by pulling out of the Moscow 1980 Olympic, the US may boycott the Winter Olympics schedule to hold at PyeongChang in South Korea. The opening ceremony is less than two months from now but according to American news medium, NBC News, the American Ambassador to UN, Nikki Haley, casts doubt on US participation.
Incidentally, Russia is already ruled out of the Games following an IOC decision. The possible boycott of US is hinged on the tensions rising between US and North Korea.
With the 2018 Games set to be held approximately 70 kilometres from the demilitarized zone between North Korea and South Korea, United States’ U.N. Ambassador reportedly said that it was an “open question” whether Team USA would participate.
Also, Speaking with Fox News, Haley said that the U.S. would take “every precaution” to ensure the safety of its athletes. Asked if she would “feel comfortable” sending a family member who was on Team USA to PyeongChang, Haley replied, “I think it depends on what’s going on at the time in the country.”
“We have to watch this closely, and it’s changing by the day,” she added.
The U.S. flew a supersonic bomber over South Korea on Wednesday; part of a week-long slate of military exercises intended to send a strong warning to North Korea.
That country launched an intercontinental ballistic missile last week that demonstrated a potential, at least theoretically, to deliver a nuclear warhead to Washington, D.C.
Shortly after that missile test, Haley reportedly said at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that “continued acts of aggression” from North Korea could lead to war and that “if war comes, make no mistake — the North Korean regime will be utterly destroyed.”
Haley was asked by McCollum, “In terms of the threat of potential military action in that region … do you think it is safe for [U.S. athletes] to go there in this environment?”
“I think those are conversations we are going to have to have, but what have we always said? We don’t ever fear anything, we live our lives,” Haley said. ” . . . And certainly that is a perfect opportunity for all of them to go and do something they have worked so hard for.
“What we will do is, we will make sure that we’re taking every precaution possible to make sure that they’re safe, and to know everything that’s going on around them.”
“Is that a done deal — is the United States recommending that our team goes, or is that still an open question, in this environment?” MacCallum asked.
“There’s an open question. I have not heard anything about that, but I do know in the talks that we have — whether it’s Jerusalem, whether it’s North Korea — it’s always about, how do we protect the U.S. citizens in the area?”
If Team USA members and United States Olympic Committee officials are concerned about their safety in PyeongChang when the Games take place in February, they aren’t expressing much about that publicly.
“The proximity is close, but from what I understand, the Olympics are one of the safest places that you can be in terms of heightened security,” U.S. biathlete Lowell Bailey told The Post in September. “I really do trust that the Olympic Committee and the State Department are all very diligent and would never put their athletes in harm’s way. I wouldn’t say it’s something I never think about, but I’m confident we’re in good hands.”
“Should the unthinkable happen and there’s conflict between nations, that’s not an issue for the U.S. Olympic Committee to get involved in,” USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun said at the time.
“Then it becomes an issue for the IOC and our nations to make decisions. So we’re preparing as if we’re going to go.”
Asked if she had any hesitation about having her family come to Pyeongchang to watch her compete, U.S. alpine skier Julia Mancuso said jokingly, “Not really. You could be like, ‘If you go down, we’re going down together.’ ”
Some NBC staffers are wary of signing up for their network’s on-site coverage of the Winter Games because “they’re afraid to get nuked,” the New York Post’s Page Six reported, quoting a source. The source added that network employees are usually eager to work Olympic assignments.
The recent Inter Continental Ballistic Missile test has frustrated organizers of the Winter Games, who have grappled with low enthusiasm in the host country and lagging ticket sales.
“It wouldn’t make sense for anyone to cancel tickets to PyeongChang because of fears about North Korea,” one organizer told the AP. “There’s no war; bombs aren’t being dropped on PyeongChang.”
The Games have occasionally been the scene of terrorist attacks, most notably in Munich in 1972, when members of a Palestinian organization killed 11 Israeli Olympians and a West German policeman.
Two other fatal attacks occurred in 1996, when a pipe bomb exploded in Atlanta, killing one person and wounding dozens of others, and in 2008, when a knife-wielding assailant in Beijing killed an American businessman and wounded his wife and their tour guide.
Last month, the Trump administration placed North Korea back on the U.S.’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, but the South Korean government said that it would welcome athletes from its northern neighbour to compete in PyeongChang.
North Korea has yet to indicate if it will participate, having boycotted the Games the previous time South Korea hosted them, in the summer of 1988.
Pastor Enoch A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has unveiled a full-size stadium and an Olympic-size 50-metre swimming pool at the Peaceville International Academy, located within the Redemption City of God, Ogun State.
The esteemed cleric was accompanied by his wife, Pastor Folu Adeboye, along with top church leaders including Pastor Joseph Obayemi; RCCG National Overseer, Pastor Sunday Akande, and the management of Peaceville International Academy led by Head of School Dolapo Fatoki.
The event was graced by several board members of the school, including Leke Adeoye, Olugbenga Omojola, Ayoola Jolayemi, Noah Osato, and Mrs Busola Ogunsiji.
Reflecting on his past, Pastor Adeboye lamented the lack of such facilities during his university days and the general scarcity of quality sports amenities across the country.
“This kind of well-grassed stadium and serene environment were not available in universities during our time. Remarkably, God has made this possible in a secondary school, showing that He is on our side,” he remarked.
He offered prayers for those who contributed to the realization of these facilities and expressed his vision for the school to become a global brand.
In her welcome address, Pastor Mrs. Adeboye, the founder of the college, described the institution as a legacy made possible by God’s support.
She thanked her husband for his unwavering support in making the school a reality and emphasized the importance of the sports facilities in moulding Godly champions.
The unveiling ceremony also featured a novelty match to celebrate Pastor Adeboye’s 83rd birthday, with him performing the ceremonial kick-off for the match between Redemption City FC and Region 1 FC. The home team triumphed with a 4-0 victory.
Head of School Dolapo Fatoki highlighted that the facilities would be judiciously used to enhance the physical well-being of students and position the school as a hub for sports development in Ogun State and Nigeria.
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Championship promotion chasers Burnley clocked up 1,000 minutes without conceding a league goal as they drew 0-0 at Preston North End on Saturday to stay third in the table.
It was Burnley’s 24th Championship clean sheet of the season and their 11th in a row — a new English second-tier record.
In 33 Championship games their miserly defence has been breached only nine times and no opposition player has scored against them in the league since Dec. 21.
Burnley keeper James Trafford has faced only 21 shots on target in achieving his 11 successive clean sheets — including two penalties which he saved against Sunderland.
Scott Parker’s side need just one more clean sheet to match the Championship record of Queen’s Park Rangers in 2010-11.
“It’s something we pride ourselves on. We’re proud of being hard to beat and if you can’t win games, don’t lose them,” Burnley midfielder Josh Cullen told the club’s website.
“We come away with a point thanks to that defensive record and being solid again here at a tough place.”
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A UK-based sports recycling charity, Lord’s Taverners has donated sports kits and equipment worth over 30 million naira to the CSED (Community Sport and Educational Development) Initiative.
The donated kits and equipment weighed 998 kilograms. It is not the first time such a donation was made.
It would be recalled that since 2019, this is the fifth batch of sports kit donations that Lord’s Taverners have donated to CSED Initiative.
In total, CSED Initiative has received sports kits weighing over three thousand kilogrammes from Lord’s Taverners.
Most of this batch of donated sports kit items are for cricket, netball, badminton, football, casual sportswear and tracksuits.
Some of the prominent institutions that have benefitted from the kits that were donated by Lord’s Taverners in the past are Edo State Cricket Association, the cricket team of ABU Zaria, the cricket team of IDPs Uhogua, Cameroonian refugees in Ogoja (Cross River State).
Furthermore, some selected schools in Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom and Taraba States have benefitted from the free cricket kits that were donated by Lord’s Taverners to CSED Initiative.
In a recent email correspondence between a Trustee of CSED Initiative, a Project Manager of Lord’s Taverners, a representative of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) acknowledged the role the kits that Lord’s Taverners donated to CSED Initiative played in the development of some of the cricketers who recently played in the Nigerian female cricket team at the recently completed T20, U-19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia.
Nine out of these fifteen cricketers are players from Edo State whose cricket Association received 250 kilogrammes of donated cricket kits from CSED Initiative in April 2019.
Furthermore, CSED has also donated cricket items to a cricket project that has supported the development of the two cricketers from Akwa Ibom State who featured for Nigeria in the Malaysian tournament.
During an interview with sports reporters, a representative of CSED Initiative stated that the new batch of donated equipment from Lord’s Taverners will enable them to empower three thousand children and youths in respect of supporting some of their basic sports kit needs. The donated kits will enable CSED Initiative to train three hundred P.E. Teachers in 2025. “So, it is going to be a win-win situation for grassroots sports.”
However, CSED Initiative have been informed that the Lord’s Taverners sports kits recycling project is going to close in March 2025, as a result of financial constraint. The National Coordinator of CSED Initiative stated that this news was a huge shock to them, and the sports recycling community all over the world.
Lord’s Taverners has a global base of sports for change NGOs that they have supported in the past few decades. Though Lord’s Taverners was mainly set up as a cricket charity, it has over the years supported other sports at the grassroots level.
“We in CSED Initiative will forever remain grateful for the support we have received from Lord’s Taverners. Especially in respect of the sport of netball.
They have supported us with balls, bibs, netball jerseys, T-shirts and skirts.
These donated netball kits gave us the courage to strive to revive the game of netball in Nigeria through our ongoing: “Project 2027” drive where we have trained and equipped more than three hundred and seventy P.E. Teachers and community leaders.”
While receiving the donated items in their Niger Delta base, the National Coordinator of CSED Initiative assured Dave Pemberton (Project Manager of Lord’s Taverners) that the sports kits will be distributed for free to selected schools and vulnerable community groups (IDPs and asylum seekers/refugees) they currently work with, as well as new sets of schools and communities who will be expected to put the donated kit into good use.
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