Sports in Egypt have so far not been affected by the coronavirus with international and continental events being held in the country in the last two months. All have been incident free. Since the coronavirus broke out, Egypt has hosted several major sports events, including the world pentathlon World Cup with 40 nations taking part as well as the Fencing World Cup, in addition to continental football matches. All the events were held with spectators. Meanwhile, the world's top squash players are currently competing at the Platinum Black Ball Squash tournament in Cairo, with spectators. As for the national competitions and the Egyptian leagues, they have been running on schedule but behind closed doors, a decision that had nothing to do with the coronavirus but with security. But, on Tuesday, Egypt's Youth and Sports Ministry issued a statement in which it called for postponing national competitions. Following the statement some Egyptian sports federations have announced suspending their activities. As for future international sports events scheduled to be held in Egypt, the ministry recommended liaising with the international bodies for postponment or if must be held, then to take place behind closed doors and ensure taking the necessary precautions needed for the health safety of all participants. However, it hasn't been the same worldwide as some countries have either cancelled competitions while others continue their activities but without spectators. The International Judo Federation cancelled three major international competitions after the hosts took the decision only days before the start: the Judo Cadet and Junior Cup scheduled for 21-22 March and the Grand Prix of Rabat in Morocco and Russia's Ekaterinburg Grand Slam 2020 as well all Olympic qualification events until the end of April. The 2020 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, have been postponed until next year and the Asian Indoor Track and Field Championship in Hangzhou has been cancelled. So far, football leagues are still running as scheduled worldwide, however, because of the pandemic, many countries, especially in Europe, have banned the formalities of the game such as shaking hands at pre and post-match ceremonies as a precaution. While some find it a bit hard to visualise sports without handshakes, high fives and sweaty hugs, not to mention sustained physical contact, they are forced to considering the players' health and safety. On Monday, Italy has decided to suspend the football league as well as all sports activities until April 3. Following consultations with Asia's member associations, FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have agreed to postpone the upcoming Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Matches originally scheduled to take place during the international window of 23-31 March 2020 and 1-9 June 2020 are postponed to later dates. FIFA and the AFC will discuss further details of the postponed matches. However, in order to support the member associations concerned, and provided that the safety of all individuals involved meets the required standards and that the member associations due to play each other mutually agree, the matches may still be played during the international windows of March or June 2020, but always subject to prior approval from both FIFA and the AFC. FIFA and the AFC have also agreed to postpone the AFC Futsal Championship in Turkmenistan which serves as the qualifiers for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania from 5-16 August. The upcoming qualifiers for the Olympic football tournaments are foreseen to be played as scheduled, with the exception of the women's Olympic qualifying play-off between Korea Republic and China PR, which will now take place during the international window of 1-10 June. FIFA and the AFC will continue to assess the situation in relation to COVID-19 and will decide whether further changes to the schedule of the 2022 Asian FIFA World Cup qualifiers are required, always with the aim of protecting the safety and health of all individuals involved. Recently, Arab Champions League officials decided that the game between Raga of Morocco and Ismaili of Egypt, which was scheduled to be held on Monday in Morocco, is to be held without spectators. Furthermore, Morocco and Tunisia have also decided to have all matches held behind closed doors, according to recommendations from their ministries of health. The first-leg of the African Champions League semi-finals for both Ahly and Zamalek is scheduled to be held at Cairo Stadium in the first week of May. The decision of fans attending is still subject to the situation of the pandemic at the time. With only three months to go for the world's most prestigious sports event, the Olympic Games, the fate of the games, which are scheduled to begin on 24 July in Tokyo, remains vague and is probably the biggest coronavirus question in the sports world today. Both the IOC and the organisers insist the games will go on, except in times of war. John Coates, the Tokyo event coordinator, revealed to media outlets that there was no case for any contingency plans or cancelling the games or moving them. In a statement to CNN, the local organising committee of Tokyo 2020 said: “[We] will continue to collaborate with all relevant organisations which carefully monitor any incidence of infectious diseases and will review any countermeasures that may be necessary with all relevant organisations.” The IOC Executive Board (EB) issued their own statement concerning the upcoming Olympic Games. “The EB heard a report on all the measures taken so far to address the coronavirus situation, which was followed by a comprehensive discussion.” A joint task force was created in mid-February involving the IOC, the host city of Tokyo, the government of Japan and the World Health Organisation (WHO). “The IOC EB appreciates and supports the measures being taken, which constitute an important part of Tokyo's plans to host a safe and secure games.” The IOC said it will continue to follow the advise of WHO, as the leading United Nations agency on this topic. The IOC EB expressed its thanks to the WHO for its continued valuable advise and cooperation. It also praised the “great unity and solidarity of the athletes, National Olympic Committees, international federations and governments”. It welcomed their close collaboration and flexibility with regard to the preparations for the games, and particularly the qualification events. All stakeholders continue to work closely together to address the challenges of the coronavirus. The IOC EB encourages all athletes to continue to prepare for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The IOC will keep supporting the athletes by providing the latest information and developments, which are accessible for athletes worldwide on the athlete 365 website. The Olympics are scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August.
