AIBA Pays Off Debt - Federation Focus

(ATR) The International Boxing Association (AIBA) removes one of the major hurdles to returning to the good graces of the IOC.

AIBA on Wednesday announced it has paid off the outstanding $10 million debt owed to Azerbaijani company Benkons LLC. The loan, the biggest owed by AIBA, had been hanging over the federation for years as part of financial issues that led to former president C.K. Wu’s resignation and the IOC cutting off Olympic Solidarity funds to the federation in 2017.

The settlement of the loan fulfills an election promise made by current AIBA President Umar Kremlev to return the IF to stable financial footing.

"Financial issues have hung over the leadership of the sport I love for too many years. They have even threatened our Olympic future," said Kremlev. "Closing the debt is a core achievement for our financial health and future Olympic prospects. I am very happy that we have been able to resolve this and ensure stability for AIBA."

The federation also revealed $7 million in development funding for grants divided among National Federations (NFs) and continental Confederations. AIBA said the funding has "a clear source" and does not "involve any new indebtedness". As part of its work to ensure financial stability, AIBA recently secured significant sponsorship from Gazprom.

Now that the financial issues are resolved, AIBA can focus on the other problems that caused the IOC to suspend the federation in June 2019, taking away the right to organize the boxing competition at Tokyo 2020.

These include referees and judges, ethics, doping and governance.

The federation on Wednesday said it will use "its new-found financial stability as a platform for achieving progress in governance reform and sporting integrity".

Kremlev met with referees and judges in Dubai on May 23 ahead of the start of the Asian Men’s and Women’s Championships. He told them that as a referee or judge "you defend all athletes and represent honesty, not one single country".

"We have already implemented open scoring, bout review, scoring system will be updated soon," AIBA Secretary General Istvàn Kovàcs said, adding "We will show zero tolerance, if someone is not judging fairly."

World Rugby, ChildFund Partnership

World Rugby appoints international development agency ChildFund as the principal charity partner for Rugby World Cup 2021, which will be played in 2022.

It is a first in the history of the premier women’s 15s event.

With a focus on gender equality initiatives, ChildFund works with partners, including Oceania Rugby, to provide vulnerable girls and women with opportunities to learn skills to overcome challenges and be active leaders in their communities.

Rugby fans will have the opportunity to engage with and support the work of ChildFund Rugby, ChildFund’s dedicated rugby for development unit, via an opt in mechanism to donate when purchasing match day tickets. The funds raised through the partnership will support the expansion of rugby for development programs in Oceania.

The partnership follows on from one at Rugby World Cup 2019, which raised a record-breaking £2 million ($2.8 million) from rugby fans globally to ChildFund. The funds provided more than 25,000 children from disadvantaged communities in Asia with the opportunity to take part in ChildFund’s Pass It Back program across Asia, teaching life skills through rugby with the support of Asia Rugby.

"We are delighted to be extending our impactful association with ChildFund, this time as principal charity partner for Rugby World Cup 2021. The tournament will showcase rugby’s unstoppable women as they compete at the highest level," World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin said.

"Importantly, it will also generate an incredible legacy by supporting a new generation of female players and leaders in Pacific Island nations through ChildFund’s significant contribution to rugby for development programs in the Oceania region."

Federation Focus is presented by the International Weightlifting Federation. Click here for more on the IWF.

Written by Gerard Farek

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