Fallout from FIFA Ousting Ethics Bosses -- Federations Focus

(ATR)The former heads of FIFA’s investigatory and judicial ethics chambers called a press conference in Manama, Bahrain on Wednesday, a day after they were ousted from their positions.

The FIFA Council, chaired by president Gianni Infantino, decided not to re-nominate Swiss prosecutor Cornel Borbely and German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert at a meeting on Tuesday.

In their place, the Council wants Colombian lawyer Maria Claudia Rojas for the investigative position and former European Court of Justice president Vassilios Skouris from Greece to run ethics. Both will be subject to approval by a vote of the FIFA Congress on Thursday. The Congress historically rubber stamps decisions made by the Council and its predecessor the Executive Committee.

Following up on a statement they released on Tuesday, Borbely told reporters the Council’s decision "amounted to the end of the reform process" for FIFA. He added that the move came as "several hundred" investigations into alleged corruption were ongoing and that it was not clear whether these would continue to be pursued.

Eckert told reporters "The loser is soccer, because trying to get a good, honest FIFA now it's very difficult. The loser is soccer, not me."

Infantino on Wednesday declined to discuss the reasons for not handing new terms to Borbely and Eckert while insisting FIFA’s image was not damaged by the decision, according to the Associated Press.

South Africa Approved for 2023 Rugby World Cup Bid

South Africa's new sports minister Thembelani Nxesi has lifted the ban on the country's rugby union allowing them to re-enter the race to bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The ban was imposed by the South African government last year due to the sport's lack of diversity.

Cricket and netball have also had their suspensions lifted with athletics remaining banned.

Ireland and France are expected to bid for the tournament along with South Africa. The host country for the 2023 World Cup will be announced in November.

The next Rugby World Cup will take place in Japan in 2019.

The draw for that tournament was held in Kyoto, Japan on May 10. The host country is in Pool A with Ireland and Scotland. Defending champions New Zealand are in Pool B with South Africa and Italy. Pool C looks like the most difficult, with England, France and Argentina in the mix. Australia and Wales are the top sides in Pool D, which also features the Republic of Georgia.

IFF Revamps Identity

The International Floorball Federation has decided to revamp its identity by reshaping its logo and presenting a more interactive online presence.

"There has been a burning need to modernize the IFF logo and update the IFF Event Corporate Identity, to match the requirements of the world of today," IFF Secretary GeneralJohn Liljelund said in a statement.

"We are very proud of our dynamic new logo and believe it will increase the awareness of the sport. I would like to thank Czech Floorball for the cooperation in the process of finding [and] producing the new logo, which is very versatile and user-friendly and represents our growing sports uniqueness."

Click here to watch the history of the IFF's logo.

The logo, having not been changed since 2006, has moved to a simpler design with bold typography and turquoise accents.The 2018 World Floorball Championships in Prague will be the first to incorporate the new logo as part of their event.

Not only has the IFF changed its logo but will be launching a new look and interactive elements for its website in 2018.

2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers Announced

The official draw ceremony for the 2019 FIBA World Cup took place in Guangzhou, China on May 7.

The ceremony consisted of four draws in each region including Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas. Click here to view each qualifier set and schedule.

FIBA president Horacio Muratore, FIBA Secretary General and IOC member Patrick Baumann and president of the Chinese Basketball Association Yao Mingwere among leaders attending the event as well as FIBA partners Nike and Tencent.

The qualifying tournament will begin in Nov. 2017 with the World Cup taking place in China from Aug. 31- Sept. 15, 2019.

The newly designed FIBA World Cup trophy was also unveiled during the ceremony. For the first time, the trophy is made entirely of gold and features an engraved list of all previous world champions.

Gymnastics Approves Obstacles Event, Could Join Tokyo Olympics

The inclusion of a new International Gymnastics Federation discipline was approved during the 17th FIG council in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The discipline, based on obstacle course competitions, will be split into two formats - obstacle course sprint and obstacle course freestyle. The sprint will be a race against the clock while the freestyle format will be judged on performance.

The event will make its debut at the FISE festival in Montpellier, France.Members of the International Olympic Committee are expected to attend to observe "new trends in view of the Tokyo Olympic Games," according to the FIG. This may present a chance for the discipline to be added to the next Summer Games.

Adjustments to the current FIG technical regulations must be made due to the inclusion of the discipline.The new regulations will be determined at the next FIG council meeting in 2018.

The discipline has not been officially named.

Written by Courtney Colquitt

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