When Jordanian Football Association President Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein took his seat before a press conference in Geneva on Thursday (February 11), he was fully aware of the consequences of what he was about to say.

Memories of 1994 were everywhere at this Youth Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.

I happened across my old College photograph the other day, and remembered one of my footballing mates, Richie, who sadly died a few years ago. Richie was a mad-keen Leicester City fan. Oh, if only he were still here to witness this escalatingly thrilling fantasy of a season…

My insidethegames colleague Nick Butler is a decent sort, but he had me squirming this week with his column on cheating and the form of cricketing dismissal known as the “Mankad”.

The serious injury sustained by the former British gymnastic queen Beth Tweddle - she has fractured two vertebrae in her neck - while taking part in the Channel 4 TV reality game show The Jump is a stark reminder of the dangers of launching oneself through space, fingers crossed rather than skis, and praying for a happy landing. 

Two contrasting but deeply controversial incidents have taken place in sport in recent weeks.

The first concerned 19-year-old Belgian cyclist Femke Van den Driessche, a European cyclo-cross champion last year who, after failing to finish the women's under-23 race at the World Championships in Heusden-Zolder, was reportedly found to have had a motor concealed within her bike.

For the Lausanne 2020 team, the New Year starts on a high note.

Judging by the enthusiasm and excitement which was palpable throughout a special event at Belfast City Hall earlier this week, you would have thought Northern Ireland had just been awarded the Olympics rather than the Commonwealth Youth Games. 

The sign is strong and the message eloquent. And the sight will be amazing. In April 2016, the Olympic Flame will be lit in Olympia in Greece, less than four months before the opening of the Rio de Janeiro Games. It will begin its course in Athens and its outlying districts, then take off for Brazil 12 days later.

There is a pattern to bad publicity before major sporting events. A year or so out the previously optimistic tone will dip amid stories of construction delays, dissatisfaction over ticket distribution, budgets running out of control, rumours of contract corruption and misdemeanours in the awarding of the event to the hosts.

Even the slickest, best choreographed media events – and I have attended few slicker than this week’s descent on Wembley by FIFA Presidential candidate Gianni Infantino and his footballing legends – have revealing moments.

The news that Frank Bruno, Britain’s most beloved boxing figure, wanted to make a comeback at 54 was not the best news the sport could have had at a time when it is riding higher in public esteem than for many years.

Last night’s International Swimming Federation (FINA) World Aquatics Gala took place in the iconic Vigadó Concert Hall here in Budapest. Built in 1859 on the eastern bank of the Danube, the grand old building - the city's second-largest concert venue - required 36 years of renovation following the destruction of World War Two, but is now fully restored and filled once again with elegant arches and beautiful paintings.

What a fascinating insight into FIFA we had last week.