Paris Olympics: IOC to conduct boxing competitions, qualifying events on its own; not to involve IBA

Mumbai, June 24 (IANS) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday decided to conduct the boxing programme and the qualifying events for Paris 2024 Olympic Games on its own, declaring that the International Boxing Association (IBA) was not in a position to conduct the event as IOC's concerns regarding governance and transparency have not been met.

This decision by the IOC Executivbe Board in its meeting in Lausanne on Friday disassociates the IBA from the Olympic boxing programme and throws the sport in turmoil once again. Just as it did at Tokyo Olympic Games, the IOC will conduct the entire boxing programme for Paris on its own. The IOC will soon come up with a model to conduct the event in Paris Games and the qualifying programme for it.

The IOC also affirmed that as of now, boxing has not been included in the sports programme for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and a final decision will be taken regarding it after the IOC sports department works out models for qualifying and conducting the event in Paris.

"In the interest of the athletes and the boxing community, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided that the boxing qualifying events and competitions at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will not be run under the authority of the International Boxing Association (IBA)," the IOC said on Friday.

"Our concerns regarding governance, refereeing, judging and finances related to boxing remain. The recent decisions by CAS regarding IBA elections too were a matter of concern," Kit McConnell, IOC Sports Director, informed in a press conference after the EB meeting.

He said that a panel will work out various models for conducting the boxing event during Paris 2024 Games, which will be submitted to the EB in a few months. The panel will also recommend to the EB regarding the future of boxing in the Olympics, especially at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.

"The IOC administration will finalise on an exceptional basis alternative models for the organisation of these boxing competitions, working closely with the Paris 2024 Organising Committee 'nd athletes' representatives. The outcomes of these discussions and suggested recommendations will then be presented to the IOC EB in due course," the IOC said in a release on Friday.

"Whether or not boxing will be included on the sports programme of the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 will be discussed at a later stage," the IOC said.

Concerning the planned IBA qualification pathway to Paris 2024, the IOC EB noted that no host-city agreements had been signed for the qualification competitions and that there was an insufficient number of certified referees and judges to deliver the planned events.

McConnell said the panel that will decide on the alternate model for organising boxing competitions in Paris will also decide on how to utilise the services of the certified referees and judges that are associated with the IBA.

The IOC decision throws into turmoil the sport of boxing once again, around six months before the qualification programme for Paris Olympics were set to start.

The IBA had taken some decisions regarding Paris 2024 and it is not clear whether IOC will implement those measures.

The IOC conducted the qualification programme and competitions for boxing at the Tokyo Olympics.

But at Friday's press conference its administrators said it was not decided whether the same model will be followed in Paris.

"The decision is centered on the athletes and the need to provide certainty on the Olympic competitions and qualifications leading to Paris 2024. It follows the continuing and very concerning issues of the IBA, such as its governance and its refereeing and judging system," the IOC release said.

The immediate trigger for this decision was the recent decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturning the IBA Interim Nominations Unit to deem presidential candidate Boris van der Vorst and three other candidates ineligible for elections.