Boxing Federation Lawsuit; Pan Am Stadium Vote; Match Fixing and Doping

AIBA Challenges Lawsuit Over Upcoming Congress

International Boxing Association (AIBA) spokesman Paul O’Neil says the federation expects to turn aside a challenge in Swiss court that seeks to invalidate plans to hold the federation congress in Almaty, Kazakhstan Nov. 1 to 3.

A hearing is scheduled Oct. 20 at a Lausanne court to review the case presented by 13 national federations, including England, Belgium, Thailand and Ukraine.

The suit alleges that the decision to cancel plans to hold the meeting in Busan, South Korea and move it to Almaty was taken improperly.

AIBA contends that three of the federations said to be a part of the suit deny that they agreed to join the legal action.

The suit also alleges AIBA acted against its statutes by barring dozens of federations from participating in the congress – and presidential election – for non-payment of AIBA dues, about $250 a year.

AIBA says all national federations were duly informed months ago that dues must be paid as a condition for attending the congress. At the 2006 congress, federations facing the same consequence were allowed to pay dues on the scene in Santo Domingo, restoring their eligibility. AIBA has not indicated yet whether the same grace will be offered in Almaty.

The Nov. 2 election will essentially confirm C.K. Wu for a second term as AIBA president. He unseated 20-year incumbent Anwar Chowdhry in 2006, promising to clean house at the embattled federation. Wu will run unopposed after English federation chief Paul King failed to collect the required number of signatures to be nominated as a candidate.

Toronto 2015 Suffers Yet Another Stadium Delay

Toronto 2015 is no closer to its Pan Am Stadium after yet another delay for the main Games venue.

Hamilton city council voted Tuesday to accept an "absolute and final deadline" put forth by organizers. Only two councilors opposed.

The port city and its Canadian Football League franchise now have until Feb. 1 to finalize construction plans for the 25,000-capacity stadium, long the chief cause of concern for these Pan American Games.

The proposed $166 million Pan Am Stadium would host soccer during the Games and the Tiger-Cats football team after.

Toronto 2015 CEO Ian Troop told Around the Rings last week the two parties have at last agreed upon where to build but must still determine how.

Financing was indeed the focus of Tuesday’s debate as city officials presented a west end location that demands the purchase of a Canadian Pacific Railway yard and thus the allocation of additional funds.

Hamilton has put forth $45 million, the Pan Am organizing committee has pledged $70 million and the Ti-Cats last week promised an additional $8 to $10 million over 10 years.

The team also agreed Tuesday to develop a portion of the 52-acre rail yard as well as to operate the stadium for its first 20 years, a proposition Ti-Cats president Scott Mitchell insisted was a losing venture.

The Hamilton Spectator reported Tuesday from the proceedings that the $41 million shortfall does not include land, remediation, business relocation or demolition.

Troop told ATR last week he could deal with a "yes" or a "no" from Tuesday’s vote but not another "maybe".

Elections loom Oct. 25, he explained, and the new city council won’t sit until January, so a delay as short as two weeks would likely yield a wait as long as three months.

That explains the latest deadline.

The stadium would take roughly four years to build, so a Feb. 1 go-ahead and a March groundbreaking mean a spring 2015 completion date, a timetable Troop admitted was "pretty tight".

The opening ceremony is slated for July 10.

If neither Ontario’s provincial government, the Canadian federal government nor private investors come to the aid of Hamilton before the February deadline, Pan Am organizers will take their soccer elsewhere.

A smaller stadium would come hand-in-hand with such a move, likely leaving the Ti-Cats out in the cold.

WADA Chief Claims Doping, Match Fixing Connected

Doping and match fixing may be orchestrated by the same people.

That’s what World Anti Doping Agency director general David Homwan claimed at a gathering of sports ministers at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

"We have evidence from Interpol and from Major League Baseball that the people who are fixing betting are the people who are involved in illegal doping," he said.

"The information has come from two different and unrelated sources who say the same thing."

Howman said that while match fixing is just coming to light in cricket that "doesn't mean it's not in other sports.

"Any sport in which you can do spot-betting is vulnerable. You could bet on the chances of an athlete doing a foul in the shot put or a false start in the 100m."

He added that it is up to governments to pursue ways of cracking down on match fixing but suggested "that governments should look at WADA as an appropriate model to address other practices that challenge the integrity of sport."

Howman will address the European Union about match fixing laterthis month.

WADA allegedly first found evidence of the connection three years ago, but the information had "come to a head" in the past 12 months.

French NOC president Denis Masseglia said the IOC should take charge on the issue and create a body like WADA to fight match fixing.

"All sides mostly agree on the need for international harmonization of sports betting controls because the internet knows no borders; if the rules are different in one country compared with another, then sport’s credibility will be affected," he said at the Sportel Convention in Monaco.

"A lot has been achieved in a short time: for a long time illegality was associated with sports betting and sport had to develop something legal and responsible but which needs to be harmonized at an international level. The International Committee has a role to play.

"It will take time, however, to analyze the legal frameworks in different countries. It’s extremely important to harmonize the different types of sports betting.

"If you can do one type of betting in one country and not in another there is a contradiction: this is why the anti-doping experience can be of benefit in the sports betting field."

Sold Out Sportel

Sportel leader says the economic downturn is not affecting the convention.

David Tomatis, CEO of Sportel said the event, which ends Thursday, has been "successful" so far.

"With more than 2500 participants we had a small growth from around four percent…in less than two months.

"We are the only convention for TV and sport, so, I am also confident for the future."

Tomatis said Sportel was thinking about adding an internet gaming convention for "two or three years".

"We saw in the past, that a lot of the betting and gaming companies have registered for Sportel. So, we have decided to organize our own convention, because at the first edition, more than 350 participants have registered from all over Europe. How successful it will be, we will see in three years. That is the time you need for establishing such an event."

Written by Ed Hula III and Matthew Grayson.