IOC member says Olympics will be postponed, UEFA club competition finals also postponed

Per new reports, it looks as if the Olympics are increasingly likely to be postponed. Dick Pound, Veteran International Olympic Committee member, said that the games are definitely going to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic (USA Today):

On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided.The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.

Pressure has been mounting across the globe because of the fact that the COVID outbreak has significantly hindered qualifying campaigns and training regiments for teams and athletes preparing for the games. From a footballing perspective, the men’s German team has already qualified through the U-21 European Championships, but the women did not. The idea had been touted of possibly bringing Thomas Muller and/or Mats Hummels with the men’s team, but it remains to be seen how realistic of a possibility that would be.

The Olympic committee officially has to make a decision by May 24th, as they have to give at least 60 days notice on what they plan to do. This would be the first time the games have been postponed during non-war times. The Canadian team had already announced over the weekend that they would not be sending their athletes if the games were not postponed, and other countries showed support of that decision in an act of solidarity; Australia, Germany, Norway, and Brazil included.

Pound, a Canadian himself, said that the decisions moving forward will take place in different stages in order to cover all of the moving parts that are associated with rescheduling all of the events:

It will come in stages. We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense.

The idea of cancelling the games altogether was quickly turned down, which was a decision that was justifiably endorsed by Japanese officials, most prominently Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

UEFA Postpones Club Competition Finals

UEFA has made the decision today to postpone the finals for the Women’s Champions League, the Men’s Champions League, and the Europa League. At this point, no decision has been made on when, exactly, any of these finals will now take place, but they were all originally scheduled to take place at the end of May (UEFA.com). The decision will likely revolve around when domestic seasons are able to resume and finish, as that’s the top priority once matches are able to be played again.