International Olympic Committee Executive Board recommends that the IBA is no longer recognised by the IOC and Olympic movement; Board also recommends that boxing remain in place for Paris 2024 Games; In April, several boxing nations broke away from the IBA and joined 'World Boxing'
Wednesday 7 June 2023 17:35, UK
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board has recommended that boxing remain in place for the Paris 2024 Games.
Boxing's future at Paris 2024 and within the Olympics has been in some doubt due to the turmoil within the running and organisation of the amateur ranks by the International Boxing Association (IBA). However the IOC Executive Board's recommendation should preserve the sport at the Olympics at least for the Games in Paris next summer.
In addition, the IOC Executive Board has also recommended that the IBA no longer be recognised by the IOC and Olympic movement.
A statement read: "This decision is based on the IOC Comprehensive Report on the Situation of the IBA dated 2 June 2023, which the IOC EB discussed and approved today.
"The report establishes that the IBA has failed to fulfil the conditions set by the IOC in its decision communicated to the IBA on 9 December 2021 - which was not challenged by the IBA - for lifting the suspension of the IBA's recognition.
"In the preparation of this report, the IBA was granted the right to be heard and to provide any information it deemed relevant."
An extraordinary meeting of the IOC session has been called for June 22 to discuss and vote on the matter.
The IBA has been suspended by the IOC since 2019 due to "persistent issues" - namely judging, refereeing, financial sustainability and governance. It also last year allowed Russian and Belarus athletes to compete under their country's flags, contrary to almost every sporting federation in the world since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The organisation say they are maintaining a 'transparent' approach as they look to ensure boxing's Olympics future.
They said: "The International Boxing Association (IBA) has made public its report that submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 5 May 2023 addressing each of the IOC's areas of governance concerns. The report was submitted to the IOC to reinforce each move made towards the organisation's reinstatement to ensure full transparency of the ongoing process. Stay tuned for further updates as we continue our journey towards ensuring boxing's future at the Olympics."
The IBA is currently led by its President, Russian, Umar Kremlev. He was re-elected in May 2022 after his opponent for the Presidential Election - Boris van der Vorst from the Netherlands - was declared ineligible. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in June last year that Van der Vorst was wrongly prevented from standing.
In April, several high-profile boxing nations including the UK and USA broke away from the IBA and joined 'World Boxing'.
The aim was to sever links with the IBA as it was viewed as a tainted organisation and to preserve boxing as an Olympic sport.
Prior to Wednesday's IOC recommendations, boxing was only granted a place at the Paris 2024 Olympics as it would be organised by the IOC internally and not the IBA, as it was at the Tokyo Olympics.
It does not currently have a place to participate at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. It would appear the decision by a number of countries to leave the IBA and join World Boxing is giving the sport some hope of an Olympic future beyond Paris.
