Five Candidates Tapped for SportAccord Presidency

(ATR) Around the Rings has learned that five candidates have been targeted to replace outgoing SportAccord president Hein Verbruggen.

The Dutchman is stepping down in May, with a new president to be elected at the 2013 general assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Jan Fransoo, head of the SportAccord commission charged with finding a new leader for the organization, tells ATR: "We have identified a number of people and been approached by a number of people. We have had conversations."

The president of the International Korfball Federation revealed that the five candidates were drawn from the 107 members of the umbrella organization representing Olympic and non-Olympic sports federations.

He confirmed that two of the five were current presidents of Olympic federations; the other three are past presidents or have held senior positions with an IF.

"I think there are a number of good people around," Fransoo said.

Marius Vizer, head of the International Judo Federation, has in the past expressed an interest in running for the SportAccord presidency. But so far he has yet to declare his intentions.

World Karate Federation chief Antonio Espinos has also been mentioned as a possible candidate.

Fransoo’s commission is due to conclude its work at the end of February.

"The idea of the commission is to search for candidates… to make sure good candidates step forward," he explained, adding that other candidates not already targeted could emerge.

Under SportAccord statutes, only candidates who have served a full term with the executive board of one of the organization’s member IFs will be considered for the leadership role.

Potential candidates will spend the next two months canvassing the views of their own federations before deciding whether they should stand for the presidency.

Formal nominations are due by the end of April, one month before the SportAccord general assembly in St. Petersburg.

Verbruggen, who has served 10 years as acting and elected president, restated at last year’s SportAccord Convention in Quebec City that he would step down from the job.

Opting out of the search for his successor, the former head of the International Cycling Union has said that whoever is elected to lead SportAccord to "new horizons" should be prepared to devote 150 work days per year to the job.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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