International sport faces indefinite disruption

Only 17 weeks before the start of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, international sport faces indefinite disruption after the attacks on New York and Washington and the subsequent U.S.-led bombing of Afghanistan.

A month to the day after the September 11 attacks, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge appeared on NBC's Today programme to assure the American people that the Olympic movement would not be cowed by violence and that the Games would go ahead.

But despite Rogge's pledge and unprecedented security precautions in Utah, nothing is certain any more in global sport.

On Friday the insurance group AXA sent shockwaves through the sporting world when the world governing soccer body FIFA announced that the French firm wanted to renegotiate the premium charged for covering next year's World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

AXA gave FIFA a month's notice that it would terminate its agreement to insure the tournament against risk, including terrorism.

Outraged FIFA president Sepp Blatter accused AXA of profiting from the international situation.

"The deal will have to be renegotiated because the World Cup cannot go ahead without insurance," he said. "I have always said that a World Cup in the Far East would be extremely expensive, now it will be even more so."

The Japanese organising committee has increased its budget by 25 percent to pay for more police and metal detectors around its 10 World Cup stadiums and costs for an event already troubled by unresolved arguments over television rights are certain to soar.

CRICKET HIT

Cricket was the first international sport hit by the September 11 attacks when the New Zealand team decided to travel home from Singapore rather than continue on to Pakistan for a three-test tour.

Sri Lanka subsequently cancelled a tour to the Muslim country which borders Afghanistan and West Indies will delay a decision on their tour early next year until they have held discussions with Pakistan officials at next week's International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The executive board meeting was switched from Lahore.

Sharjah and Morocco have been suggested as neutral venues if Pakistan is unable to host home tours in the immediate future and although the ICC plans to introduce heavy fines for countries who fail to fulfil their tour obligations Pakistan will clearly be a special case.

England's tour of India this year is in doubt and West Indies have also postponed a decision on their forthcoming visit to Sri Lanka.

The Ryder Cup team competition between the United States and Britain, scheduled for The Belfry in England last month, was an early victim of the attacks and next year's Desert Classic in Dubai and the Qatar Open may be called off.

Australian rugby league players attracted scorn from both home and abroad when officials cancelled a three-test series in Britain because of team members' security fears, although a shorter tour is now being negotiated. Their rugby union counterparts still intend to visit Britain as do South Africa and New Zealand.

Last Thursday Australian swimming officials took the unprecedented step of asking their athletes to sign indemnity forms absolving the governing body of responsibility if they were hurt or killed by acts of terrorism.

Australian Swimming Inc spokesman Ian Hanson said the body's insurance company had advised it would not be able to cover team members against "an act or threat of terrorism".

The forms were drawn up for Australia's 13-strong team for the U.S. Open in New York next month and may be used for other World Cup events in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Edmonton, Canada.

Tennis has been another sport affected with the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, pulling out of events in Europe. Leading U.S. golfers have also stayed at home.

"I feel a strong need to stay close to home and my family in the wake of the events of the last month," said Serena Williams.

Max Mosley, president of the world governing motor sports body FIA, said last week there was a great tendency in sport to over-react.

"Straight away, there are two aspects to consider," he said. "The first question is 'what can we do'? And if you can't help the victims or arrest the perpetrators, the answer to that is you can't do anything in that respect.

"So the next best thing is to go on doing what you would normally do. In fact I'd say it's almost a duty."