Resolutions of the XXV ANOC General Assembly Crete 2021

25 October 2021; Crete, Greece: In spite of the ongoing Pandemic, ANOC successfully delivered the XXV ANOC General Assembly in Crete, Greece on 24 & 25 October 2021. Thanks to the Hellenic Government and Hellenic Olympic Committee 148 NOCs were present at the meeting and 57 NOCs connected virtually.

The ANOC General Assembly agreed on the following resolutions:

- ANOC congratulates the Hellenic Olympic Committee and its President Spyros Capralos as well as the Hellenic Government and its Deputy Minister of Sports Mr. Lefteris Avgenakis for the excellent support of the organisation during the preparations of the ANOC Meetings in Crete.

- ANOC thanks the IOC and its President, Thomas Bach, for addressing the ANOC General Assembly, and updating the NOCs on important activities during the past two years.

- The IOC President specially thanked the 205 NOCs and their athletes for their support and solidarity during the Pandemic difficulties. This support was extremely important when postponing the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to 2021.

- The 205 NOCs reiterated their commitment to the non-politicization of sport. Like the recent Olympic Games in Tokyo, the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games will bring the world together again in the spirit of hope, peace and solidarity. The Olympic Games are a powerful symbol of diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination, with athletes from all races, religions, ethnicities and cultures competing with each other and living together in harmony.

- The ANOC General Assembly also heard the ANOC Acting President’s report regarding the discussions in FIFA proposing to hold the FIFA World Cup every second year.

- The members of the ANOC General Assembly discussed the impact this proposal would have on the NOCs and the other Sports in their countries, which resulted in a decision to make the following statement from the meeting:

The 205 NOCs share the concerns voiced by many within the sports movement that FIFA’s plan to change the football calendar and to hold the World Cup every two years will pose a great threat to the survival of many sports other than football that are under the NOCs responsibility. The proposals tabled by FIFA will increase the congestion of the global sporting calendar. This will have a negative impact on sports events organised by the national member federations of NOCs as well as regional and Continental Games under the authority of the NOCs. Furthermore, it will negatively affect the football athletes’ welfare. The NOCs noted the lack of consultation by FIFA in this process in particular with regards to the IOC that showed a regrettable lack of solidarity and respect to other sports.

- ANOC supports the report of the ANOC Acting President, Dr. Robin Mitchell, highlighting the ANOC activities for the past two years. The ANOC General Assembly also acknowledged the statement from Dr. Mitchell regarding the ANOC elections for the term 2022-2026 for which he has decided to be a candidate.

- The ANOC General Assembly approved the report of the ANOC Secretary General, Mrs Gunilla Lindberg, over the past years which outlined the important actions which have been taken to strengthen the voice of the NOCs in the Olympic Movement.

The following actions were approved and supported by the NOCs:

- To work to finalize as soon as possible the MoU with ASOIF, the Continental Associations and ANOC regarding the request from ANOC and the Continents to be able to include more Olympic Qualifications as part of the Continental Games and the ANOC World Beach Games.

- To acknowledge the initiative to help the NOCs to improve the social media activities through special seminars and exchange of knowledge and experience.

- The 205 NOCs welcome the IOC’s commitment to reduce its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. The NOCs pledge to engage with the UN Sports for Climate Action framework and apply similar reduction in their greenhouse gas emissions.

- To support the initiatives taken by ANOC regarding sustainability measures and to help to spread the message to all 205 NOCs and the Organisers of all upcoming ANOC Events including the ANOC World Beach Games.

- The ANOC General Assembly heard the report from the ANOC Finance Commission and approved the 2019 and 2020 audited Financial Statements as no ANOC General Assembly could be held in 2020,

- The ANOC General Assembly endorsed the 2021-2024 Budget as approved by the ANOC Executive Council.

- The ANOC General Assembly was informed that the audited financial statements are prepared in accordance with the relevant financial standards (FRS for SMEs) and Swiss law.

- The ANOC General Assembly approved the reports of its different Commissions and congratulated the Chairs of the Commissions for excellent work.

- The ANOC General Assembly approved the decision taken by the ANOC Executive Council to approve the ANOC Events Commission’s Report regarding the procedure to appoint the upcoming host for the ANOC World Beach Games 2023, 2025 and 2027 and approved for the ANOC Evaluation Commission to start work with the candidate for 2023, the Indonesian Olympic Committee. Candidates for the 2025 and 2027 Games will be studied during the upcoming year.

- The Tokyo Olympic Organising Committee and its CEO Mr. Muto gave its final report to the ANOC General Assembly and thanked for the excellent cooperation that had taken place between the IOC, OCOG, Government, the IFs and the NOCs in very difficult circumstances.

- TOGOC especially thanked the IOC CoCom and ANOC, the NOCs and IFs for their understanding and contribution. Many NOCs both in the room and virtually thanked the Organizing Committee for the excellent work in delivering Tokyo 2020.

- The ANOC General Assembly heard the report from the Organizing Committee in Beijing 2022 about the preparations for the Games which will also be held under strict Covid restrictions.

- The ANOC General Assembly heard a presentation from the OCOG of Paris regarding the preparations for the upcoming Games in 2024. The preparations are going well, and no major challenges were reported.

- The ANOC General Assembly heard an update from the IOC Administration and its Director General, Mr. Christophe de Kepper, who reported on the progress for Olympic Agenda 2020 and Olympic Agenda 2020 plus five. Mr de Kepper specially mentioned the new concept regarding the hospitality program and the qualification rules for the Olympic Games. .

- The new Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, Mrs Emma Terho, gave an update of the work of the Commission and the cooperation with the ANOC Athletes Commission and was congratulated for the good work.

- The ANOC General Assembly heard a thorough update from the Director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Services, Mr James MacLeod, about the activities and the relations with the NOCs.

- The ANOC General Assembly approved the decision of the ANOC Executive Council to organize the XXVIANOC General Assembly in Seoul, from 17 until 21 October 2022.

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