Plus, of course, there is the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. We had the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, where we sent a team of four reporters, and coming up are the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Summer World University and Asian Games in China, the World Games in Alabama and multiple World Championships.
The remainder of 2022 is not going to be any less busy, or less challenging. Our small and dedicated team were extremely busy last year covering the re-arranged Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, an unprecedented logistical challenge that stretched our tight resources to the limit. Last year, nearly 25 million people read, making us by far the biggest source of independent news on what is happening in world sport.Įvery contribution, however big or small, will help maintain and improve our worldwide coverage in the year ahead.
It would mean we can keep our website open for everyone. Your vital support would mean we can continue to report so comprehensively on the Olympic Movement and the events that shape it. We were the first publication in the world to signal the threat that the Olympic Movement faced from the coronavirus and have provided unparalleled coverage of the pandemic since.Īs the world begins to emerge from the COVID crisis, would like to invite you to help us on our journey by funding our independent journalism. The ping of our free daily email alert, sent every morning at 6.30am UK time 365 days a year, landing in their inbox, is as a familiar part of their day as their first cup of coffee.Įven during the worst times of the COVID-19 pandemic, maintained its high standard of reporting on all the news from around the globe on a daily basis. For many of our readers from more than 200 countries and territories around the world the website is a vital part of their daily lives.
has established a global reputation for the excellence of its reporting and breadth of its coverage. As the first website not to be placed behind a paywall, we have made news about the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and other major events more accessible than ever to everybody. "Air tickets are pretty expensive, and the Minister of Sport has said categorically that they cannot sponsor us because they cannot get money from the treasury," Fernando said.įor the full interview with Fernando, click here.įor nearly 15 years now, has been at the forefront of reporting fearlessly on what happens in the Olympic Movement. The women's T20 team is being supported by Cricket Sri Lanka. With no Government money available, the country said Commonwealth Games organisers had agreed to fund dozens of athletes' participation, with local authorities backing 28 others in sports which are predicted to do well. Sri Lanka is due to compete in 3x3 basketball, aquatics, athletics, badminton, beach volleyball, boxing, cricket, gymnastics, judo, rugby sevens, squash, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling in Birmingham. "As a result things are not functioning well." "People are stranded in fuel queues, running into kilometres, day and night. "The fuel crisis is a major problem, as because of that everything has come to a grinding halt. Protesters swam in the Sri Lankan President's pool after invading his residence ©Getty Images "We are suffering without fuel, gas, and we are facing a food crisis as well to some extent. "Honestly speaking, it's a turmoil situation. "We are going through a very bad patch in the country as far as the economy is concerned. "We have a lot of issues at the moment," said Major General Dampath Fernando, the Sri Lankan Chef de Mission for Birmingham 2022 who once held the country's second-highest military rank, to insidethegames. Observers have said it is down to financial mismanagement, however. Wickremesinghe's house was set alight with the Government blaming the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact on Sri Lanka's tourism industry, for the crisis. The Asian nation is due to take 114 athletes to the Games - a rise from the 79 who went to Gold Coast 2018 - but is in the middle of a crippling economic crisis which has seen food and fuel run low.īoth President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have now said they will resign after months of demonstrations, with the former's mansion overrun by angry protesters who then swam in his pool. Sri Lanka's Chef de Mission for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has admitted preparations have been impacted to a "great extent" by the "turmoil situation" in the country.