June 4 - 10, 2016
Sports Interational
43
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Rio seeks to allay concerns with Olympics just 2 months away
Rot-Weiss Oberhausen have already tweeted a picture of Ibrahimovic’s shirt.
Rot-Weiss Oberhausen will make Sweden striker Ibrahimovic king ZLATAN Ibrahimovic could become king of Oberhausen if he signs for the German city’s fourth-tier football club. The striker, 34, is considering offers after leaving Paris St-Germain but few will be as creative as what Rot-Weiss Oberhausen have put forward. The club says the striker’s signature on a two-year contract would see the city introduce a monarchy that Ibrahimovic will head, while a local beer will be renamed to feature his name. Sweden captain Ibrahimovic is known to be a confident operator, so could a seat on a newly-formed throne tempt him? If this is not enough, a local
swimming pool - which closed over 20 years ago - would again be filled with water and opened for the former Barcelona player whenever he needs it. In a statement, the club referred to their target as “God” and confirmed they have “made an offer” featuring an “attractive package”. After finishing fifth last season, Oberhausen are in the market for “a powerful forward who’s good in the air” and Ibrahimovic - who scored 156 times in 180 games at PSG - fits the bill. “In a football province like Oberhausen, there are a few things which other places wouldn’t have,” club president Hajo Sommers told German broadcaster Sport1.
SEEKING to allay political, economic and health concerns as the games approach, Brazilian organisers assured IOC leaders on Thursday that final preparations for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro would not be derailed by the Zika outbreak, a presidential impeachment or construction delays. With South America’s first Olympics just over two months away, Rio organisers made their final presentation to the IOC executive board ahead of the Aug. 5 opening ceremony. “We are confident the games will take place and will be very successful,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters. Also Thursday, the IOC cleared all four cities bidding for the 2024 Games — Los Angeles, Paris, Rome and Budapest, Hungary — to advance to the next stage of the race. Under new bidding rules, the IOC has no plans to trim the field and expects all four to go to the final vote in September 2017. The IOC also authorized Kuwaiti athletes who qualify for the Rio Games to compete as individuals under the Olympic flag if, as expected, their national Olympic committee remains suspended for government interference. The suspension has been in place since last October, and Adams said no
The Rio Olympics are scheduled for August.
progress has been made since then. IOC President Thomas Bach plans to visit Brazil from June 14-16 to check on Rio’s preparations for himself. He will meet acting President Michel Temer, who took over last month after Dilma Rousseff was suspended pending a Senate impeachment trial. A final vote on Rousseff’s removal could come just three days before the opening of the games. Adams said Rio organizers updated the board on the political situation, noting that the games have the full support of all levels of government in Brazil, including from Temer. Rio organizing chief Carlos Nuzman said the IOC had “no questions, no concerns” over the political crisis.
Last week, a group of 150 scientists suggested the Olympics should be postponed or moved because of the outbreak of Zika, a mosquito-borne virus linked to severe birth defects. But the World Health Organisation said there was “no public health justification” to call off the Olympics, and the IOC has repeatedly said the games will go ahead. “This is no public health risk with Zika” that would warrant postponing or moving the games, Nuzman said. Nuzman said the Zika threat diminishes dramatically during Brazil’s winter months. Rio officials showed a graphic indicating the rate of infection falls significantly from June to September.
America’s Cup set to hit Asia as Japan ends 165-year wait Jeff Hornacek is believed to have agreed on a three-year $15M contract.
Hornacek ‘honoured’ to be Knicks’ new coach NEW York Knicks president Phil Jackson praised Jeff Hornacek’s “basketball acumen” while announcing on Thursday that Hornacek will be the team’s new coach. Hornacek, 53, will be the Knicks’ fifth coach in six seasons. He will be the second coach Jackson has hired since taking over as team president late in the 2013-14 season. “Jeff has a tremendous basketball acumen and possesses strong leadership skills,” Jackson said in a statement. “During his career as both a player and coach, he has demonstrated the ability to elevate the game.”
Hornacek agreed to a threeyear, $15 million contract, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday. There is no fourth-year option on Hornacek’s deal, sources say. “I am extremely excited and honored to be the next coach of such an historic franchise,” said Hornacek, who will be introduced at a press conference at the team facility on Friday afternoon. “I look forward to working with Phil -- a coach and teacher of the game I have admired for many years -- and collaborating with him and our staff to take this team to the level that Knicks fans expect.”
THE America’s Cup is coming to Asia -- for the first time in its 165year history. It was announced Thursday that Fukuoka, Japan, will welcome the World Series on November 18, with organisers hoping the two-day event will lure a brand new audience to the sport. The series allows teams to pick up qualifying points ahead of next year’s Louis Vuitton Cup Challenger races in Bermuda, from which the winner takes on defending champion Oracle Team USA in the battle for the America’s Cup. “This is an incredible opportunity to showcase this compelling sport to new audiences, not only in Japan but across all of Asia,” said Russell Coutts, CEO of the 35th America’s Cup and and a five-time winner of sailing’s premier competition. “With the challenge from SoftBank Team Japan marking the return of Japan to the America’s Cup, enthusiasm is building for the sport in Asia,” the New Zealander added. “The new, foiling, flying AC45 catamarans produce exciting,
Japan will welcome the World Series on November 18, with organisers hoping the two-day event will lure a brand new audience to the sport.
exhilarating racing and show our sport at its best. This is what we are bringing to Fukuoka.” Backed by tech billionaire Masayoshi Son, it is the fourth Japanese team to compete for the America’s Cup, but the first since 1999. Kazuhiko “Fuku” Sofuku, who was a bowman in the team 17 years ago, has returned to the fold as general manager and is hoping the
competition will take off in Asia. “As a Japanese sailor, it is extremely meaningful to be able to have the race in Japan,” he said. “On behalf of SoftBank Team Japan, I know we’ll be putting all of our efforts into producing a great result.” With Japan to host the 2020 Olympics, Fukuoka will have the chance to show it can stage big sailing events.