Boxing Federation Awaits IOC Verdict

(ATR) A day-long meeting of the IOC Executive Board comes with a decision-packed agenda Wednesday in Lausanne..

Most anticipated will be the findings of an ad hoc group of three IOC members who have been reviewing the operations of AIBA, the International Boxing Association.

The inquiry follows two years of turmoil for AIBA. A judging debacle at the Rio Olympics, near bankruptcy and a series of four presidents are all elements of the instability. While the IOC has indicated that the sport of boxing is likely to remain on the program in Tokyo, the EB could remove AIBA as the organization responsible for the tournament, an unprecedented move by the IOC for Olympic sports.

A report from the IOC Ethics Commission, which has cases involving at least three suspended IOC members, is on the agenda for the EB.

As the EB reviews plans for the upcoming IOC Session in June wheneither Milan-Cortina or Stockholm-Åre will be chosen to host the 2026 Olympics, the board may consider changes for future elections of host cities.

Another agenda item will present proposals for changes to the Olympic Charter.

And with the IOC membership roster numbering 95, with six more members retiring at the end of this year, the EB will hear the names of candidates proposed to join the IOC. The IOC Members Election Commission is headed by the Princess Royal.

Vacant now for several years are seats that have been held by individuals in Cuba, Greece and Mexico. Nominations from those nations could be made at the meeting in Lausanne.

The 15-member Executive Board, led by President Thomas Bach, will decide on a location for the 2021 IOC Session.

The meeting at the Lausanne Palace Hotel is expected to be the next to last held before the spectacular new IOC headquarters open June 23.

Reported by Ed Hula.