More Federations Join Olympic Channel -- Federations Focus

(ATR) The Olympic Channel now touts a 63-strong lineup of federations that provide content to the global media platform.

Less than 16 months since its launch, the Olympic Channel made its most recent announcement of International Federation agreements on Dec. 13.

Six new federations have joined the platform, including the Alliance of Independent Recognized Members of Sport (AIMS), International Fistball Association (IFA), International Federation of Muaythai Amateur (IFMA), Federation of International Polo (FIP), International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) and Tug of War International Federation (TWIF).

"We are excited to welcome these organizations to the Olympic Channel’s robust family of federation partners," said Olympic Channel general manager Mark Parkman. "As we look ahead to 2018, we are in a great position to promote all sports and athletes within the Olympic Movement, and help to distribute their content and grow their audiences worldwide."

In its first full year of operation in 2017, the Olympic Channel live-streamed 210 events across 25 sports to a global audience, either via dedicated television channels in the United States and Europe or on the Olympic Channel website.

FIBA Selects World Cup Hosts

The International Basketball Federation is following the lead of other Olympic sports and organizations by allowing multiple countries to host a single event.

On Dec. 9, FIBA awarded the 2023 Basketball World Cup to a joint bid from Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines, the first time the World Cup will be hosted by multiple countries.

The tripartite bid from Asia defeated another joint bid from Argentina and Uruguay as decided by the FIBA Central Board led by FIBA president Horacio Muratore.

"This was a very difficult decision as both candidatures were of exceptional quality," Muratore said in a statement. "We want to congratulate both bidders for their outstanding work.

"We look forward to witnessing a FIBA Basketball World Cup Final played in a venue packed with more than 50,000 basketball crazy fans in the Philippines, a country where basketball is a religion."

Muratore notes that the final will be played in the Philippines as part of the final stage exclusively staged in the capital of Manila. The group phases of the tournament will take place in all three countries.

Despite its defeat, the Argentina and Uruguay bid has been given the opportunity to adjust its plans for the 2027 edition of the World Cup. FIBA said in a statement that the 2027 decision was "faced with such fortunate circumstances and acknowledging similar trends in the world of sport."

FIBA will coordinate with the two countries at the beginning of 2018 to determine the requirements for a new bid. If Argentina and Uruguay satisfy all of the requirements, it is likely the FIBA Central Board will award the 2027 World Cup to the countries at its next meeting in June 2018.

ITU Executive Board Meets in Edmonton

The International Triathlon Union Executive Board approved the pillars of the federation’s four-year strategic plan during a meeting in Edmonton, Alberta.

The Strategic Plan for 2018-2021 was given the green light in September by the ITU Executive Board and Congress but an "action plan" was hammered out in Canada.

"These have been three days of intensive work planning and defining the direction of our organization for the next four years, and also approving some decisive steps towards the success of our development projects and the debut of the Mixed Relay in Tokyo 2020," said ITU President and IOC member Marisol Casado in a statement.

The executive board was presented with the new rankings and qualification criteria for the Tokyo 2020 Games, a period that will start in May 2018. The new criteria, which must still be approved by the IOC in February, are designed to give all regions and national federations their chance for Olympic glory, according to the ITU.

Among other agenda items, the board approved the launch of the Mixed Relay Series with two events in 2018 and voiced its "firm intention" to have the ITU join the ITA, the independent anti-doping testing and sanctioning system proposed by the IOC.

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Written by Kevin Nutleyand Gerard Farek

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