The Olympics

The Olympics

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News, information and stories about the Olympic Games in Athens 2004 and the Olympics in general up until 2007.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Soccer Dopes

It seems that soccer may be pushed out of the Olympics, unless it cleans up its doping rules.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled that FIFA, soccer's world governing body, is not compliant with the rules of the code issued by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). WADA dictates doping policy for all 35 Olympic sports federations.

FIFA adopted the WADC at its Congress in 2004, but WADA has ruled that soccer hasn't changed its rules to be in line with the code.

Soccer is so mired in scandal (eg bungs), I am not in the least surprised that they have not "managed" to bring their doping rules up to date.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

The Olympic Omelet

You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs, or so the old saying goes. That certainly seems to be the case with the Beijing Olympics.

Beijing's mayor has called for a speeding up of the demolition of impoverished neighborhoods in Beijing, as part of preparations for the 2008 Olympics.

Mayor Wang Qishan told officials and construction workers that demolishing the dilapidated neighborhoods is an essential task this year, and that the work must be accelerated.

Beijing is undergoing a thorough makeover for the 2008 Games. It is estimated that the cost of refurbishment will top $40BN. This will cover the costs of new sporting venues, new roads and subway lines and the new build of residential communities in the suburbs.

One area of reconstruction is aimed at the poorer areas known as "inner city villages", there many homes have been built illegally and many of whose residents are rural migrants.

It is reported that about a third of these areas designated for destruction have been torn down, with the rest to be finished by year's end.

Wang is quoted as saying:

"This work is full of significance in strengthening the environment, building a livable city and realizing the strategic plan of a 'New Beijing, Great Olympics'."

Quite what the residents of these soon to be demolshed homes think is not reported. I assume that the corporate sponsors of the Olympics are happy with this non reporting?