Tickets for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are set to be distributed in a lottery system ©Getty Images

A lottery system will be used to decide which ticketholders can attend the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as well as sessions in eight sports.

Tokyo 2020 organisers said it would use the system as it has sold more tickets than the available capacity under the new COVID-19 rules for spectators.

Venue capacity will be limited to either 50 per cent or a maximum of 10,000 people.

Organisers had given spectators another opportunity to be refunded due to the latest restrictions, with 840,000 tickets handed back out of a total 4.48 million sold.

The number of tickets will be reduced by 910,000 to 2.72 million, with Tokyo 2020 adding that those successful in the lottery will be confirmed on July 6.

That is 17 days before the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics.

Athletics will be one of the eight sports using the lottery system, as well as baseball, football, golf, modern pentathlon, rugby sevens, softball and surfing.

Fans will be required to wear masks at all times and have been asked to refrain from cheering, high-fiving or linking arms with others, in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Spectators from overseas have been banned completely, while Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto has not ruled out barring domestic fans too if COVID-19 cases spike.

"We may potentially bring down the number of spectators, a cap on the spectators or no spectators," she said while speaking via a translator, according to NBC News.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8, followed by the Paralympics from August 24 to September 5.

By Michael Houston 

Mr. Kwabena Agyepong, a Civil Engineer and Politician with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called for support for the youth in Ghana with athletic potentials.

The former Sports Presenter of ‘Sports Highlight’ who was speaking as chairman at the launch of the the Koraa Sports Consults Ltd. founded by former national athlete and three times Olympian, Emmanuel Tuffour at the Media Centre of the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday, June 22, 2021 expressed that track and field can be good for Ghana, and the youth with potentials should be encouraged.

The new Deputy Minister Of Youth & Sports of Ghana Hon. Evans Opoku Bobbie launched the dream and flagship programme, ‘Project Athletics.’

He said Ghana’s image in athletics must be restored, whilst opportunity must be given to the youth to display their talents in athletics.

He recalled the successes Ghana chalked in athletics at international meets, and the exploits of Mike Ahey, Alice Annum, Rose Hart, Oko Addy, Billy Lomotey and others.

“We need to prepare well for 2023 African Games and the 2024 Olympic Games, and revive schools and colleges sports” he expressed.

Mr. Emmanuel Tuffour was the national record holder in 200 meters for 22 years, until it was broken by Tokyo 2020 bound Joseph Paul Amoah in 2019. He is still a member of the 100X4 team that set the national record in 1997.

He said his secret is training and discipline, and his dream is to build a sports complex of excellence in the Ashanti Region to train young sports men and women who can represent the nation at international events, like the Olympic Games, World Championship and African Games.

He called for reward of scholarships for athletes, the return of inter schools and colleges and the support of corporate Ghana.

Ghana Gas, Adonko Bitters, Ashfoam, Yazz, ADB, Goil, GNPC, Franko, NIB and others are supporting the initiative towards raising athletes for the 2023 African Games to be hosted in Ghana and beyond.

The dignitaries present include President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, Mr. Ben Nunoo Mensah who said the GOC is solidly behind Koora.

President of SWAG, Mr.  Kwabena Yeboah, said the state of Ghana should make imput in the project.

Chairman of the LOC for the 2023 African Games, Dr. Kwaku Ofosu Asare urged Ghanaians to support the Koora Sports Consult project and assure that the African Games would definitely be held in Ghana in 2023, and serve as qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Professor Peter Twumasi, Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA) noted that it was an exciting day, and prayed that the dream of Koora will come true.

In attendance were Mr. Emmanuel Owusu Ansah and Mr. Reks Brobbey of the 2023 LOC, Mr. Sandy Osei-Agyemang, former President of Ghana Athletics, former national athletes, Members of Parliament, CEOs of some sponsors and the African Unity Band.

By Sammy Heywood Okine

The Koraa Sports Agency founded by former national athlete and ex - Olympian Emmanuel Tuffour will be launched at the Media Centre of the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.

The occasion will also be used to launch his dream and flagship programme, ‘Project Athletics.’

Mr. Emmanuel Tuffour was the national record holder in 200 meters until it was broken by Tokyo 2020 bound Joseph Paul Amoah in 2019, however he is still a member of the 100X4 team that set the national record in 1997.

His best performance in a global event was a seventh place at the 1993 World Championships, but at the 1992 Olympics he failed to qualify for the final by 0.01 second.

He hinted that his dream is to build a sports complex of excellence to train young sports men and women who can represent the nation at mega international events.

He believes in making inter schools and colleges popular to generate interest among the youth.

A couple of companies including Ghana Gas, Adonko Bitters, Ashfoam, Yazz, ADB, Goil, GNPC, Franko, NIB and others who see the advantages in sports, especially Athletics are supporting the programme.

The dignitaries invited include HE Nana Akufo Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana who is Special Guest, Hon. Mustapha Ussif, Minister of Youth & Sports, President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, Mr. Ben Nunoo Mensah, Dr. K.K. Sarpong, CEO of GNPC and Mr. Ben Asante, CEO of Ghana Gas.

By Elizabeth Alhassan

The Tokyo 2020 Athletes' Village was unveiled to media today ©Getty Images

Tokyo 2020 has confirmed athletes will be allowed to drink alcohol inside their rooms at the Athletes' Village, but condoms will not be distributed during the delayed Olympic Games as part of efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Organisers of the postponed Olympics in the Japanese capital today unveiled the 44-hectare Village to media, which features several measures designed to reduce the risk posed by the novel coronavirus, including a reduction in the number of seats in the dining hall and protective screens between tables.

Tokyo 2020 said athletes could bring in alcoholic drinks but they must be consumed in their private rooms and not in public and common areas of the Village due to COVID-19 rules.

Banning all alcohol in the Village had been considered by the Organising Committee to align the facility with coronavirus measures that are in place in Japan.

Condoms, which had been distributed to athletes at every Olympics since Seoul 1988, will be made available to competitors once they depart the Games in a break from Olympic tradition.

Athletes, who have to arrive no earlier than five days before their event and depart no later than two days after under the strict rules that are set to be implemented during the Games, have been told to limit contact with other competitors inside the Village due to the pandemic.

They will undergo daily testing and must wear a mask at all times, except for when eating, drinking or sleeping.

Athletes and all participants have been warned to respect the rules in the playbook - the final version of which was published last week - or risk sanctions including fines and being thrown out of the Games.

Around 18,000 athletes and officials are expected to stay at the Village during the Olympics, set to open on July 23.

The facility, located in the Harumi waterfront district of Tokyo and around six kilometres from the National Stadium, features 21 residential buildings and 3,800 condominiums.

The Village Plaza is set to serve as a social hub for athletes and will include a cafe, florist, bank, photo studio, dry cleaners and a Tokyo 2020 merchandise shop, while the Multi-Function Complex hosts a fitness centre, a recreation centre, the doping control station and a polyclinic.

The International Olympic Committee has claimed more than 80 per cent of people inside the Athletes' Village will either have been vaccinated or be in the process of inoculation in time for the Games.

Liam Morgan

Sewon Okazawa, 25 was born in Yagamata in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Ghanaian father.

He is the 2021 Korotkoff International Boxing Tournament Welterweight Champion. He is on record at BoxRec as an amateur with10 bouts, winning 16 and losing three.

He stated boxing at SHS and also does wrestling when he was between 6 to 15 years.

He won the 2018 and 2019 All Japan Boxing Tournament, he was second at the 2019 Asia Championship and was among the top 8 in the World Championships.

Okazawa won the 2019 Pre Olympic Tournament to earn the opportunity to represent japan at the 2020 Olympic Games.

Sewon Okazawa, who worked with Kanoya gym’s head coach Shunya Aratake, has been awarded the Best Elite Man Boxer of the year. The quarter-finalist of the last edition of the AIBA Men World Boxing Championships cares not only about his own career. This summer he claimed he would take a break in his preparation for home Games to repair the boxing gym in Kanoya damaged by flooding after the torrential rain. He is working with the

‘I want to give something back by helping return the gym to its usual condition’, he said in June to Kyodo News.

His birth name is Sewonrets Quincy Mensah Okazawa

By Sammy Heywood Okine

Accra Hearts of Oak who have won most FA Cup competitions and Kumasi Asante Kotoko, the two glamorous clubs in Ghana and others have advanced to the one sixteenth stage of the MTN FA Cup.

The round of 32 saw the defending champions Asante Kotoko last Saturday beating Thunderbolt FC 3-1 to on.

Accra Hearts of Oak also thrashed Windy Professionals 4-1 to move to the next stage.

Accra Great Olympics and Obuasi Ashgold have also progressed to the round of 16 of the MTN FA Cup with impressive victories.

As the men separate from the boys, the competition also gets keener and interesting, but some clubs have shown resilience and rubbing shoulders with the big boys.

As the sponsors have increased the prizes, all the participants have intensified their plans and strategies to win. MTN Ghana has really done well to renew their packages and promised to make football fans happy and feel the matches.

The winner will take home 80,000ghc plus a trophy and opportunity to participate in the African Cup Winners Cup competition, guaranteed by 100,000ghc. The runner up gets 30, 000ghc plus MTN products.

92 clubs started the competition, but it is left with 16, and the best is yet to come.

MTN FA Cup - Round of 32 Full Results

Hearts of Oak 4-1 Windy Professionals

Aboi Young Star 1-2 AshGold

Kintampo Top Talents 2-1 Kato Freedom Fighters

Heart of Lions 0-0 Great Olympics

Olympics win 4-3 on penalties

Tamale City 1-0 Techiman City

Elmina Sharks 0-0 Vipers

Sharks win 4-2 on penalties

Asokwa Deportivo 1-0 Skyy FC

Okwahu United 1-1 Attram De Visser

Attram win 4-3 on penalties

Karela United 1-2 Medeama Sc

Third world 0-1 Tema Youth

By Elizabeth Alhassan

Support of the National Federations and their athletes is the priority of the International Boxing Association (AIBA). AIBA received several requests from various National Federations from Africa, the Americas and Asia with a plea to organize a training camp for their athletes, as they prepare for competitions, in the light of the impossibility of arranging such an event in their countries due to multiple restrictions caused by the pandemic. The training camp will be held in Khabarovsk, Russia.

The «Konstantin Korotkov Memorial» international boxing tournament was held in Khabarovsk and all the necessary facilities are in place to stage the training camp, providing all the necessary conditions for the boxers. Entry requirements to Russia are currently relatively unrestricted and teams can easily enter the country without being quarantined.

‘We would like to support all federations, and first of all our athletes and coaches to be fully prepared for every competition. Our main task is to help them to compete at the highest level. Because of that, we are going to organize the training camps and to provide full support for our boxers’, AIBA President Umar Kremlev said.

The camp will be organized from July 3 to July 23, 2021. All National Federations are welcome to apply for participation in the event, and requests need to be sent before Tuesday, June 15.

AIBA

Up to 10,000 fans could be inside venues at Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

Up to 10,000 domestic fans will be able to attend events at the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo after organisers confirmed spectator caps for the event amid COVID-19 concerns.

Capacity will be set at 50 per cent for all venues at the Games, and 10,000 fans will be permitted providing it does not exceed that limit.

Organisers have warned, however, that further restrictions could be placed on spectator numbers if any other measures or a state of emergency is introduced because of the coronavirus crisis at any time after July 12.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the Olympics could still take place without fans if the COVID-19 situation in the host country worsens.

Tokyo and other prefectures are under "quasi-emergency" status until July 11 after the tougher state of emergency was lifted yesterday.

International spectators have already been barred from attending the Games, set to open on July 23.

The announcement following a five-party meeting between the Japanese Government, Tokyo 2020, the International Olympic Committee, International Paralympic Committee and Tokyo Metropolitan Government, comes despite health officials and experts calling for the Games to be held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But it also clarifies the last remaining uncertainty surrounding the Games, which organisers are pressing ahead with holding in the face of public opposition and criticism from those concerned the Olympics will turn into a "super-spreader" event.

Organisers held a five-party meeting today to discuss plans for spectators at Tokyo 2020 ©Getty Images

Fans have been told to wear masks at all time, refrain from shouting and cheering and travel directly to and from venues under strict rules designed to reduce the risk of infection.

Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshirō Mutō appeared to rule out spectators having to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test or vaccination to be able to attend the Games, claiming it would be "problematic".

Having proof of a COVID-19 vaccination was a mandatory rule for fans to be granted entry into the Puskás Aréna in Budapest for matches at the pan-continental UEFA European Championship.

Tokyo 2020 officials also confirmed they would hold a lottery of existing ticket holders following the decision to allow fans to attend.

About 4.5 million tickets had been sold to Japanese residents before some were returned after the Games were postponed by a year.

The International Olympic Committee has claimed more than 80 per cent of people inside the Athletes' Village will either have been vaccinated or be in the process of inoculation in time for the Games.

Case numbers in Japan have steadily declined in recent weeks but there remain concerns over tens of thousands of people arriving in the country for the Games.

Almost 16 per cent of the Japanese population has received at least one dose of a vaccine, but only six per cent has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

By Liam Morgan 

On 23 June, Olympic Day is celebrated all around the world: hundreds of thousands of people – young and old – get moving and participate in sporting and cultural activities, such as runs, exhibitions, music and educational seminars.  Over the last two decades, the event has helped to spread the Olympic ideals to every corner of the world.

Olympic Day was introduced in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on 23 June 1894 at the Sorbonne in Paris.  The goal was to promote participation in sport across the globe regardless of age, gender or athletic ability.

Over the last 20 years, Olympic Day has been associated with Olympic Day Runs all over the world. From 45 participating National Olympic Committees (NOCs) in the first edition in 1987, today the large majority of the 205 NOCs is joining in. What’s more, many of the participating NOCs are in Africa – proving the event’s worldwide appeal.

Nowadays, Olympic Day is developing into much more than just a sports event. Based on the three pillars “move”, “learn” and “discover”, National Olympic Committees are organising sports, cultural and educational activities.

Some countries have incorporated the event into the school curriculum and, in recent years, many NOCs have added concerts and exhibitions to the celebration.

Recent NOC activities have included meetings for children and young people with top athletes and the development of new web sites directing people to programmes in their neighbourhood.

This makes it easier for everybody to become part of Olympic Day. You can also join in and share your experience via our social media channels - Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.