09 Dec 2021 – The situation of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) was discussed today by the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

AIBA

Following the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 this year, the IOC EB took note of the various unresolved concerns remaining within AIBA, specifically in the areas of governance, finance, and referees and judges (R&J). The IOC Director General and the IOC Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer were asked to follow up the situation and analyse the various elements available with a view to producing a new assessment.

The IOC EB today heard their intermediate report and tasked them with defining a roadmap in consultation with AIBA to address the following areas of concern, in particular, but not limited to:

• With regard to finance, to increase financial transparency and sustainability, including through the diversification of revenues;
• With regard to the credibility of the boxing competitions, to change its R&J process to ensure its integrity under the monitoring of PwC, including a monitoring period for AIBA’s own competitions ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024; and
• With regard to governance, to ensure the full and effective implementation of all the measures proposed by Professor Haas and his team, including the change of culture.
• Keeping the IOC EB updated.

Should the above-mentioned conditions be met by AIBA to the IOC’s satisfaction, the suspension of AIBA’s recognition could be lifted in 2023. Boxing’s inclusion on the list of sports for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 would be subject to AIBA meeting the above conditions.

The full report can be found here.

For reference, the IOC Inquiry Committee’s Report, published on 21 May 2019, described in detail the history of the IOC’s concerns regarding AIBA. Please refer to the report for all the details. This report led to the decision by the IOC Session in June 2019 to suspend AIBA’s recognition.

IWF

The IOC EB also again expressed serious concerns about the situation of the IWF, which was discussed today.

The EB expressed disappointment about the ongoing governance instability, which is keeping the current IWF leadership in charge, further delaying the transition towards an effective change of culture; and so the EB is requesting:

• Confirmation that there will be no relaxation of the eligibility criteria in the current IWF Constitution or the application of these criteria
• No further delays in the IWF elections
• Confirmation that the link between the number of quota places available per country and the doping history of the respective National Federations will be maintained in the proposed Qualification System for Paris 2024.

While the IWF is fully recognised by the IOC, it remains under strict monitoring and subject to ongoing review by the IOC EB.

For reference, in February 2021 the IOC EB notified to the IWF a number of considerations and concerns to be addressed in a satisfactory and timely way. The status of the various areas of concern has been reviewed by the IOC EB throughout the year, including at the time of the latest IWF update provided to the IOC EB, on 8 September 2021.