(ATR) A committee in charge of proposing reforms for the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) is reportedly seeking some financial oversight for public funds.
Marco Aurélio de Sá Ribeiro, president of the Brazilian Sailing Confederation, proposed removing the COB from distribution of funds from the Brazilian "Law Piva" according to a report in Folha. The law distributes a percentage of lottery funds generated to Olympic sport in Brazil.
Sá Ribeiro says that creating an independent board of trustees to oversee how the funds are distributed would prevent corruption within the COB. Under this reported plan the COB would also have to propose a budget and defend it before national lawmakers.
"My idea may disappoint some people, but we have to take democracy to the base and we have to give voice to the other actors," Sá Ribeiro was quoted as saying. "The COB is a sports management entity, but due to the Law Piva, it has gained the role of executor of public policy through the transfer of resources.The issue is to ensure good governance of the public money that is being used. It is necessary to have a broad representation of society."
The proposed board of trustees would not be made up of confederation presidents that comprise the COB general assembly. Reportedly athletes and ministry of sport officials would be included in the proposed board, along with "coaches and club representatives".
Requests for comment from the Ministry of Sport on potential reforms were not returned.
New COB President Paulo Wanderley told Folha that he believed new reforms could be voted on next month.
The COB has incentive to pass wholesale reforms due to a provisional suspension from the IOC in the wake of the arrest of former President Carlos Nuzman. Reports from Globoesporte say that blocked IOC payments to the COB would total $2.16 million in 2017.
The funds come largely from payments from the IOC TOP Sponsor program. Under the program, all NOCs get a piece of revenue from the sponsorship. The last part of the funds was scheduled to be transferred in December, but is now on hold.
If COB reforms are completed before December, the funds could be released in time to prevent any major impact to the committee’s finances.
"We have to respect the IOC's opinion," Bernard Rajzman, Brazilian IOC member, told Globoesporte. "The IOC has made a decision and we are waiting. The COB has been working normally on the development of athletes so that [we] can make things go as best as possible."
Written by Aaron Bauer
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