COMMONWEALTH GAMES COUNTDOWN NEWS - RECALL CEO

IOA ASKS FOR RECALL OF CGF CEO

Last week it was the CGF which subtlely pointed towards deficiencies in the pace of work being carried out in the preparations for the Commonwealth Games to be held in October 2010. This week Suresh Kalmadi of the IOA squarely blamed Mike Hooper the CEO of CGF who had been stationed in New Delhi for the last 2 years, on having negatively interfered in the course of preparations. Subsequent to the visit by the CGF delegation last week, of stadia and sites of the Games, there was a decision taken to form a techical review committee to oversee preparations for the Games. This has ruffled the feathers of bureaucrats and politicians with some politicians having stated that locals are well capable of  completing the preparations satisfactorily. Kalmadi has gone on to say that Hooper was useless and has asked for his repatriation and appointment of a new CEO. Hooper has retorted by saying that these comments against him are unjust and has reiterated his commitment towards the Games. He has been supported by Mike Fennell, leader of the CGF, who has made it clear that there will be recall or replacement of the CEO.

Editor's Take - Sadly, this is a passing-the-buck blame game phenomenon that is being seen when everyone should be joining hands in order to complete all the preparations and put up an excellent show for the Games. All involved should step up efforts and go the extra mile so that not only are expectations met, but exceeded! Think of the partcipants for the Games, eager to prove their mettle to the world and looking forward to new records, to those who are spending time and money to visit New Delhi and India for the Games and for a holiday and millions of fans and ordinary people who will be watching the sports through live television and browsing the internet. At the least, for their sake, all concerned should forget their differances and come together to ake the Games a success.