Tokyo 2020 postponement WADA Covid-19 Q&A and cyber security alert

Message from the FEI President

You will all undoubtedly have seen today’s breaking news from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee (TOCOG) that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have been postponed due to the “unprecedented and unpredictable spread” of the Covid-19.

In a joint-statement issued by the IOC and TOCOG, the two organisations expressed their concern at the impact the outbreak has had on people’s lives globally and on athletes’ preparations for the Games. The conclusion from today’s conference call was that the Games “must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community”.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has given its full support to the decision of the Japanese Government and the IOC, and has confirmed that the Paralympic Games will also be postponed until 2021.

While this is of course desperately disappointing news, particularly for all athletes in all sports who have had Tokyo 2020 as their goal for this year, it is good to have a decision that gives us a degree of certainty we can all work around, even though there is no news as yet on the rescheduled dates for either the Olympic or Paralympic Games.

Let me reassure all of you impacted by today’s decision – our National Federations, Athletes, Officials and the Organising Committees that could be affected by the revised dates for both Games – the FEI is already in the process of evaluating how we can best make this work and mitigate against its effects on the FEI Calendar in 2021, qualifications and Minimum Eligibility Requirements.

We will keep you updated over the coming days as soon as we have any additional news.

Stay safe and let’s look after each other in these troubled times.

Ingmar De Vos
FEI President

WADA Covid-19 Q&A
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the global body that promotes, coordinates and monitors the fight against drugs in sports, has published a Q&A responding to athlete queries about anti-doping during the ongoing pandemic. 

The Q&A, which is related solely to human anti-doping, covers ongoing testing; minimising the risk of contracting or transmitting the virus; filing of whereabouts information; validating Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs); maintaining the integrity of the anti-doping system; and refusing to comply with testers at this time. For your convenience, we have incorporated this into the FEI’s Frequently Asked Questions page on the Coronavirus (Covid-19) hub.

Cyber security
Please be aware that the current Covid-19 outbreak has created a new risk, with an increase in malware and phishing aimed at exploiting public concerns. Do not open any suspicious links or attachments, and delete these emails immediately. Please ensure that your IT support teams are aware and that your IT systems are fully protected.