The IOC, between concerns about Olympic boxing and new challenges for winter sports

The International Olympic Committee once again expressed strong concern about the financial transparency and governance of the International Boxing Federation (IBA) and stated that boxing could be left out of Los Angeles 2028: “If we had to decide today, boxing would not be included in the initial program of Los Angeles 2028,” said Kit McConnel, director of sports at the IOC.

During a press conference held this Tuesday in Lausanne, a letter sent by the IOC to the IBA was read, stating that they have not observed the willingness of the International Federation to implement a “drastic change of culture”, which would allow it to lift the sanction it has maintained since 2019 for several irregularities, ranging from lack of financial transparency to lack of integrity in arbitration processes. More than three years ago, the IOC suspended the IBA - then International Amateur Boxing Federation (AIBA) - taking away the power to organize the pre-Olympic qualifying tournaments for Tokyo 2020 in May 2019. This decision was ratified last June for the events that will provide places for the Paris 2024 Games.

Tuesday was the second letter sent by the IOC to the IBA in the space of two months, since last September the Executive Committee had released a first correspondence announcing the implementation of a new classification system for Paris 2024. In this second part, the IOC reaffirmed the suspension and shared the new Olympic qualification criteria. “The question is not boxing as a sport or boxers, but rather the IBA, its practices and its activities,” McConnel said.

Another important announcement from this Tuesday’s conference was the postponement of the designation of the venue for the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, which was scheduled to take place at the 140th session of the IOC next year: “The Executive Committee discussed the challenges facing winter sports at this time. This led to a broader debate on climate change, sustainable winter sports and the selection of future hosts,” explained Christophe Dubi, executive director of the Olympic Games. For the time being, no date has been set for the selection of the next venue and the idea being evaluated is to rotate the Winter Olympic Games within a closed group of cities.

Dubi also acknowledged that they have on the table the idea of a simultaneous announcement for the venues of 2030 and 2034, with the intention of creating a context of stability for winter sports and the Winter Olympic Games. “No conclusion has been reached yet, as this needs further debate,” he said. There is an immediate precedent for a double announcement, which was that of Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028, hosting the next two Summer Games, which were jointly designated in Lima in 2017.

At the Executive Committee meeting, the IOC also reviewed the status of the National Olympic Committees (CONs) of Afghanistan, Guatemala, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and India. “The IOC Executive Committee expressed its serious concern and strongly condemned the latest restrictions imposed by the Afghan authorities on women and girls within Afghanistan, which prevent them from playing sports in the country,” Dubi said, adding at the conference that in order for the support and operations of the Afghan NGO with the IOC to remain active, it will be necessary to guarantee safe and inclusive access to sports for all women in that country. What is done in this direction will be exclusive to the participation of the Afghan Olympic Committee in Paris 2024.

As for the suspension of the Guatemalan Olympic Committee (COG), which the IOC decreed on October 15, the situation that led to the sanction “has deteriorated,” according to the director for relations with national committees, the British James Macleod. “The suspension will continue until the parties find an acceptable solution,” Mcleod said at the conference. As a result of the suspension of the COG, the XII Central American Games that Guatemala was going to co-organize with Costa Rica were canceled and athletes from the Central American country cannot compete with their flag or anthem in international tournaments.

The Executive Committee also updated on the situation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s NGO, which was suspended until the end of this year due to its decision not to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The sanction is coming to an end and will automatically be lifted on December 31, 2022.

Finally, the case of the NGO in India - it had received a warning during the previous IOC session in September - was reviewed with satisfactory results, since the Indian Olympic Association showed a clear intention to implement the recommendations made by the IOC and will now wait for the last step in the process, which will be the IOA elections next December 10.