Boxing President Says Reforms in Six Months - Federation Focus

(ATR) Newly elected AIBA president Umar Kremlev tells Around the Rings that reforms will come quickly to the boxing federation.

"This year is crucial to AIBA. It is our 75th anniversary. It will become the year of reform and renewal for AIBA," says the Russian boxing leader in an interview.

"There is a lot of work to do in this time to adopt the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee. This only the beginning of the way. In the next six months we should be able to address all of these reforms," Kremlev says.

Kremlev was elected in December as AIBA president, the fourth person to hold the post in three years. During that time the IOC has suspended the Federation from its responsibility to organize the boxing tournament at the Tokyo Olympics, set to open in July. The IOC is demanding changes to the governance and operation of the Federation as well as clarity on financial issues.

The IOC says it will consider whether to reinstate AIBA after the Tokyo Olympics.

Kremlev says a January meeting of the AIBA board of directors approved a new constitution as well as committees to oversee the changes needed.

The 38-year-old sports leader is stepping down from his post as secretary general of the Russian Boxing Federation on January 29. He says that will allow him to devote all of his time to AIBA, with no remuneration.

Non-Olympic IFs Lead the Way on Social Media

Three of the top 10 sports federations on social media are not part of the Olympic program, according to a new survey by BCW Sports.

For the first time, all recognized non-Olympic International Federations were included along with the Summer and Winter IFs.

Leading the way was the International Cricket Council (ICC) with 59,048,874 followers across all social media platforms. Soccer governing body FIFA was a distant second with 37,758,132 while the international basketball federation FIBA was third with 12,233,101.

Besides cricket, Teqball and Cheerleading were theother two non-Olympic sports to make the top 10.

The International Teqball Federation finished in 7th place with 3,793,708 followers, and the International Cheer Union was in 8th with 3,432,398.

"Our study shows that smaller, younger IFs have already gone through what many traditional IFs are forced to be going through right now: A digital transformation," said Lars Haue-Pedersen, BCW Sports Managing Director.

"These younger IFs were forced to do so because of lack of coverage in traditional media and are now in the fast lane. It is absolutely stunning to see Teqball and Cheerleading in the top ten, clearly ahead of many larger, Olympic IFs. These more well-established IFs need to act soon if they want to catch up with the younger ones," he added.

Click here for the complete results and findings.

BCW Sports is the sports practice of global communications agency BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe).

Badminton Added to 2023 European Games Program

Badminton is the latest sport to join the program of the European Games Kraków-Małopolska 2023.

Kraków-Małopolska will be the third straight edition of the European Games for badminton, following successful appearances at Baku 2015 and Minsk 2019.

"The European Games in 2023 will be a fantastic opportunity for European athletes to qualify for Paris 2024 in badminton and a number of other Olympic sports, and for others to get their first opportunity to experience a major multi-sport event," European Olympic Committees Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi tells Around the Rings.

Badminton Europe General Secretary Brian Agerbak, in comments to ATR, said "The popularity of badminton depends on many factors. Being part of European Games is an important strategic ambition for Badminton Europe. We strongly believe that being part of major multi-sport events will help improve the status and popularity of badminton in Europe."

Badminton joins a growing number of sports on the program for Kraków-Małopolska, after beach handball, canoe, karate, modern pentathlon and taekwondo were all confirmed in December.

Call for Sanctions Against FIE President

International Fencing Federation (FIE) president Alisher Usmanov is one of eight people who jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says should be sanctioned by the West.

The list was released as part of a statement by Vladimir Ashurkov, one of Navalny’s associates.

Ashurkov said Navalny believes the people on the list "should be sanctioned if the West wanted to get serious about encouraging Russia to cease attacking human rights and to rein in corruption".

Usmanov, 67, has served as FIE president since 2008. He is described on the list as "one of the key enablers and beneficiaries of Russian kleptocracy, with significant ties/assets in the West".

Around the Ringshas asked the FIE for comment.

Navalny was detained after returning to Russia on January 17. It was the first time he had been back in the country since being poisoned with a nerve agent in August 2020. He is being held for what prosecutors said is a parole violation tied to a suspended prison sentence in a fraud case. Navalny claims the fraud charges were made up.

UIPM's Aya Medany Enters Politics

Three-time Olympian and leading athlete ambassador Aya Medany adds member of the Egyptian Parliament to her list of accomplishments.

Medany competed in modern pentathlon at age 15 at Athens 2004. She also took part in the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

A strong advocate for equal representation and rights in sport, Medany is chair of the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) Athletes Commission and an executive board member of the federation. She also sits on two IOC commissions.

She was appointed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and took the oath of office for a five-year term on January 12.

Written by Gerard Farek and Ed Hula

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