The Los Angeles 2028 Olympics will feature an increase in women's soccer teams from 12 to 16, while the men's competition will be downsized from 16 to a dozen teams, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday.
The IOC had stripped the IBA in 2019 of its involvement in last year's Tokyo Olympics due to governance, finance, refereeing and ethical issues. The sport was also not included in the initial programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
With less than five months to go until the scheduled start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on July 24, questions have been raised as to whether the Games can go ahead. IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell discussed changes to qualification processes with various international sporting federations last week.
The IOC Executive Board on Wednesday finalised weight categories (eight men, five women) for the Tokyo Games as well as the qualification system.
Athletes already qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will need to be picked again by their respective National Olympic Committees to compete at the postponed Games in 2021, the International Olympic Committee said. Those athletes, the IOC said, would keep their qualification but would need to be re-selected for next year by their National Olympic Committee again as they represented a nation and not themselves.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
