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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
1. IBA: “Olympic Games cannot be a tool of extortion” against it
2. Van de Vorst, USA Boxing priority is Olympic inclusion, not IBA
3. U.S. Congress passes USOPC “Equal Pay Act,” but with holes
4. FIFA says no “match manipulation” during the World Cup
5. Ferriani confirms GAISF dissolution more like a re-branding
The International Boxing Association posted an unhappy message in reply to the International Olympic Committee’s statement last Friday that boxing’s place at the 2024 Paris Games is in doubt. The IBA continues to blame its troubles on prior chief C.K. Wu and is in denial about the IOC’s current issues with the federation. Dutch boxing federation chief Boris van der Vorst tweeted that boxing needs to stay in the Olympic Games “with or without the IBA” and USA Boxing posted a statement that staying in the Olympic Games “is the top priority.” The U.S. Congress completed an “equal pay act” that applies to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and the U.S. National Governing Bodies and no one else, that President Biden is expected to sign. FIFA announced that its integrity group found no match manipulation during the Qatar World Cup. Although the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) voted to disband, the year-end message from its President confirmed that its functions are essentially being transferred to the SportAccord organization, which is the name that GAISF used to have. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
1.
IBA: “Olympic Games cannot be a tool of extortion” against it
After the International Olympic Committee’s plain threat to remove boxing from the program of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Thursday, the International Boxing Association posted an unhappy message later that day that began:
“It is not with joy or pleasure that we write to you today as many of our member nations head into their holiday season.”
The seven-paragraph posting included:
● “[I]t is imperative that we address the latest attack on IBA’s athletes and IBA by the IOC for the new leadership’s continued commitment to becoming a sound and independent organisation, purged of prior governance issues and ultimately a financially independent sustainable organisation.”
● “The Olympic Games are a global sporting asset that belongs to the athletes of all sports and cannot be a tool of extortion of the International Sports Federations for purely political reasons, as is unacceptably happening now. With that, IBA will continue to fight for its athletes to make sure you have every opportunity and equal right to participate in the Olympic Games, free from discrimination and separate from the politics of sport which has now become the normalized approach.”
● “We are being criticized for renewing a commercial partnership that was first made in 2021. … These steps are the start of the many initiatives and governance reform to repair the reputational damage done by AIBA’s former President, IOC Member, and Executive Board Member, Ching-Kuo Wu. At this critical juncture for boxing, we cannot simply accept that the IOC refuses to acknowledge the misdeeds of a key figure in their Olympic Movement while continuing to criticize IBA and flatly ignoring the countless governance reforms undertaken.”
● “It is clear, that the persecution of IBA athletes will continue until ultimate control of boxing and its leadership has been achieved. The discrimination against you and IBA’s leadership and partners based on citizenship, directly contradicts the Olympic Charter, and only…