Boxing Congress in December

(ATR) Despite a barren treasury and no staff support, an extraordinary congress is called for boxing federation AIBA.

A letter from interim AIBA President Mohammed Moustahsane has been sent to the 203 national federations requesting their attendance.

The December 14 congress in Lausanne is supposed to adopt changes to the constitution and bylaws requested by the IOC to reinstate AIBA as the recognized federation for Olympic boxing. The IOC suspended AIBA in June from any role in the boxing tournament for the Tokyo Olympics over issues involving governance and refereeing.

The national federations have been given a Sept. 27 deadline to file any suggested revisions to the AIBA statutes that will comply with the IOC’s demands for changes. The letter from the interim president requests brevity in the responses, perhaps a reflection of the shorthanded staff at AIBA headquarters in Lausanne.

Last month Executive Director Tom Virgets was fired, a staff of three or four remaining.

Perhaps reflecting the shortage of cash for AIBA, the invitation for the congress calls for arrivals the day before the meeting, departures the next day. But a hotel has not been named, nor has a meeting place been set, both important cost centers for this kind of event.

Even if coherent and IOC-compliant changes areadopted at the AIBA congress, that won’t be enough to end the IOC suspension. Still needed will be elections for new officers, a step which may be difficult to complete.

The IOC wants the next generation of AIBA leaders to come from outside the ranks of the current cabal. Recruiting suitable candidates will be a challenge, especially if those individuals must be vetted by a reconstituted AIBA Ethics Commission.The election of new officers requires another congress, which at present AIBA can ill afford.

There’s speculation that the money and staff needed for AIBA’s recovery operations may come from the Russian Boxing Federation. Under general secretary Umar Kremlev, the RBF has helped make possible the AIBA men’s world championships now happening through Sept. 21 in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The RBF will do the same in October for the AIBA women’s world championships in Russia as well.

While the IOC is believed to be uncomfortable with Russia becoming the banker of AIBA, the federation appears to have few other financial options available at this time. AIBA is loaded with as much as $20 million in debt while the IOC has stripped the federation of its share of broadcast revenues from the Olympics.

Minus Olympic qualification, the current men’s world championships have drawn 365 boxers, the lowest number in 10 years.

In other news from AIBA, a mail vote is underway to confirm a new chair for the Technical and Rules Committee. Mauro da Silva from Brazil is the nominee. Deadline to vote is Sept. 16.

Written by Ed Hula

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