As mentioned last week, I’ll still be looking at whatever Winter Olympic action crops up, plus all the developments on the road to Beijing 2022, but as we head into the summer months, other sports will also get a look in, with star swimmer Sun Yang and his retrial in a doping case getting top billing this week, along with China’s last-minute switch to play its upcoming World Cup qualifying games in the UAE, which could have significant implications for China’s 2022 World Cup hopes.
In this week’s look at all the latest news in the build-up to the Olympics and elsewhere:
- Swimming world waits for Sun Yang retrial verdict
- China’s World Cup qualifiers switched to UAE
- Beijing 2022 “Bound to Happen”
- New Chinese involvement in International Ski Federation
- Mixed news for Olympic sponsors
- The latest boycott threats from around the world
- All the other features and stories of interest
Continue reading Setting Sun, Soccer Screwup, Ski Supremo & Stricken Sponsors →
It’s really quite extraordinary that there are only 40 weeks to go until the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and yet we still have no idea what it’s going to look like, or even who will be there. Ticketing has yet to start, sponsors have little idea what they can do – and we won’t have answers to any of these questions (and more) for several more months at least.
But that is the COVID reality. For one of the most meticulously planned events in the world, flexibility has become a necessary. It’s unsettling, but in the context of the rest of the global headlines, it’s still fairly inconsequential.
The IOC has its hands overflowing with Tokyo logistics right now, but it’s already taking center stage for Beijing, with allegations of suppliers sourcing from Xinjiang and suppressions of freedom over the Rule 50 refresh. The fun continues…
Weekly Roundup
- IOC in cotton debate over Anta uniforms
- Chinese athletes skew IOC protest poll on Rule 50
- FIS Presidential candidate pumps China’s tires
- Russian anthem to be replaced by Tchaikovsky
- More boycott news from around the world
- Other features and stories in the build-up to Beijing 2022
Continue reading 40 Weeks To Go: Cotton Socks, Robotaxis & Tchaikovsky →
Sports business news and analysis in China and Asia
