Prince Feisal: Scandals are Hurting Sport

(ATR) IOC member Prince Feisal Al Hussein is calling for federations to overhaul their governance to become "honest, transparent and accountable" amid the current corruption crises in world sport.

Speaking after a seminar of Generations For Peace, the non-profit organization he founded, Feisal told reporters in a conference call that he would like to see "better governance mechanisms for sport".

Quizzed about the scandals rocking FIFA and IAAF, including criticism of athletics chief Sebastian Coe following WADA’s devastating report on Russian doping, he said: "We would like greater openness, greater transparency and greater accountability in sports in general."

Pointing to the IOC’s Agenda 2020 reforms, he suggested the scandals engulfing the football and athletics’ bodies were negatively impacting other federations: "The IOC is maybe ahead of the game but other federations have seen major transformation and we’d like to see more."

"Everyone is working at different paces and there are some federations who are very well led," he noted. "To brush everybody into the same category is unfortunate."

"Obviously we would like everybody to be open, honest, transparent and accountable. But it is up to the individual federations to put the processes in place.

"We would love to see transformation occur. I don’t think everybody has to transform but some are very old school and haven’t evaluated processes and procedures to have transparency and accountability".

Asked if the IOC should be spending more money on fighting doping than ploughing millions of dollars into the Olympic TV Channel, Feisal said they were two distinct ventures that should not be confused.

He said the IOC and Olympic Solidarity were already investing heavily to support WADA. "If people are found to be cheating, they need to be sanctioned and they need to be punished," he said, adding that more work was required to educate and protect the clean athletes.

The "difficulties" facing several federations was not affecting Generations For Peace and some of its work in grassroots sports and conflict transformation, he added.

"People are engaging as they see issues of conflicts. People recognize we need to work harder to try to prevent violence and reduce violence, lots of government and NGOs are supporting," he said.

Sport Aiding Refugee Crisis

Generations For Peace is currently using some its resources to help the refugees crisis. With around 1.4 million Syrian refugees in Jordan, who have fled their violence in their own country, and another 1.5 million in Lebanon, he said projects were underway with schools to try and build social cohesion particularly in host communities.

"Two flagship Generations For Peace programs are focusing on social cohesion, and reduction of violence and the potential for violence in schools and in the host communities," he told Around the Rings.

"Schools and communities are experiencing increased population pressures and tensions due to the intake of refugees, so our volunteers – trained teachers and community workers – are engaging with both Syrian and Jordanian youth, and adults, through sport and art for peace weekly activities."

In August, the charitable organisation partnered with the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to increase the impact and sustainability of the Jordan Schools Program. It will support the creation of Generations For Peace Clubs in 12 schools in host communities across Jordan, benefiting nearly 7,000 young people living in those vulnerable communities across the country.

Asked what were the next steps for Generations For Peace sports initiatives, Feisal told ATR: "We need to continue to support more programs on the ground in post-conflict environments. We must continue to educate and promote the positive effects of sport and encourage the international sport community to build sustainable peace here in the Middle East, in Africa, Europe and around the world."

FIFA Presidency

Feisal’s brother Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein’s is one of five candidates vying for the FIFA presidency. The election to replace Sepp Blatter takes place Feb. 26.

"I think he is a very good candidate, I think he’s capable and I think he can do the transformation that is needed. Whether he will be successful or not will depend on what FIFA chooses for their future," he said.

"He is very passionate about his work and committed to making a difference. These are the values that will hold him in good stead for this competition."

Reported by Mark Bisson

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