CHENNAI: The world of boxing is plunged into uncertainty once again. The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) had upheld the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision taken during its Session on 22 June 2023 to withdraw recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA) as the international federation for the sport of boxing.
The IOC response, on Wednesday, was quite strong. They said if by 2025 things are not sorted, the sport might be left out of the 2028 LA Olympic programme.
All eyes will now be on breakaway World Boxing (WB). The WB has 27 members including boxing heavyweights like the US, England, The UK, Australia, the Netherlands, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mongolia and Germany. However, the Boxing Federation of India is not part of the new organisation, which was formed last year with Dutch Boris van der Vorst as the president. With the IOC's warning, BFI must start thinking about its future as well.
The IOC president, Thomas Bach, when asked about WB during an interaction with select media, had said that the body needed to have more representation. "That's (recognising WB) too early," he had said in October last year. "I'm not sure there are even 20 member federations. And I can only suggest that they do their homework.
And then, we'll be ready to look at them. They don't have sufficient global representation. If they make progress on that front and then of course, we are ready to look into other issues, whether the governance is in order or if the elections are happening in a democratic manner and if the statutes are according to the requirements. At this point, it's up to them to organise themselves."
The IOC, on Wednesday, said that the sport may be dropped from the future Olympics programme if a new international federation (IF) is not put in place fast. The onus, according to the IOC, now is on the National Boxing Federations (NSFs) and their National Olympic Committees to find an alternative. That also means that the NSFs affiliated to IBA now need to find or elect a new IF. "At the moment, boxing is not on the sports programme for the Olympic Games LA28. In order to remedy this, the IOC needs to have a partner International Federation for boxing by early 2025," said IOC.
"Following the IBA's suspension and the subsequent withdrawal of its recognition by the IOC, the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 boxing tournaments, including the qualification process, were and are being organised by boxing units set up by the IOC," said an IOC statement. "This has been done to protect the sport of boxing and the athletes.
Because of the universality and high social inclusivity of boxing, the IOC wants it to continue to feature on the programme of the Olympic Games."
However, the IOC is not committing anything in the future. "Unfortunately, this is far from certain for the Olympic Games LA 2028 because, for governance reasons, the IOC is not in a position to organise another Olympic boxing tournament. To keep boxing on the Olympic programme, the IOC needs a recognised and reliable International Federation as a partner, as with all the other Olympic sports."
The IOC has further said that, "the establishment of such a federation, which respects the IOC conditions for recognition, is now in the hands of the National Boxing Federations and their National Olympic Committees (NOCs). These conditions include good governance, the integrity of competitions, transparency of finances and accounts, and autonomy.
Every National Boxing Federation and every NOC that wants its boxers to make their Olympic dreams a reality and win medals will now have to take the necessary decisions. The NOCs and National Boxing Federations thus hold the future of Olympic boxing in their own hands, and the required actions cannot be clearer."
World Boxing's appeal to NSFs
The WB welcomed the CAS decision and also appealed to the NSFs of other countries to consider IOC's indication. "There is no alternative and the IOC has made it clear that the 'National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Boxing Federations hold the future of Olympic boxing in their own hands', said a WB statement.
"Any National Federation or NOC that continues to think its boxers will have an Olympic future elsewhere and without joining World Boxing is making a grave error that will be ruinous for the sport and hugely damaging for its boxers."
"For boxing to lose its place at the Olympic Games would be devastating for boxers at all levels in every part of the world. The Olympic Games provides inspiration and an unmatched platform for the sport. Without the Olympic Games, boxing and boxers will suffer. Fewer people will come into the sport at the grassroots and there will be less opportunities for elite boxers. This will damage the sport at every level and cannot be allowed to happen."
The CAS on Tuesday said, "as at the date of the Appealed Decision, the IBA had not complied with the conditions set down by the IOC for recognition, namely:
a. The IBA had not increased its financial transparency and sustainability including through diversification of revenues.
b. The IBA had not changed its process relating to referees and judges to ensure its integrity, including a monitoring period for IBA’s own competitions ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
c. The IBA had not ensured the full and effective implementation of all the measures proposed by the "Governance Reform Group" established by the IOC, including a change of culture."