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≡ ASOIF GENERAL ASSEMBLY ≡
At the 50th General Assembly of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, held in Lausanne (SUI), International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) explained to the heads of 36 International Federations that some of them would be receiving some bad news in the next couple of weeks.
Some sports, at least some disciplines within sports on the Olympic program for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games, were going to be cut. The Olympic Games, with 36 sports and more than 11,100 athletes coming to Los Angeles in 2028, is too big.
Before she took the floor, the meeting was opened by ASOIF President Ingmar De Vos (BEL), the President of the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), who reminded Coventry – as ASOIF President always do – that the International Federations need more support from the IOC:
“The organization of events and certainly, international events is becoming more and more complex with much more requirements that need to be met. In reality, the International Federations are increasingly asked to do more with the same resources. And our membership itself has become more diverse, both in scale and strategic needs.”
Coventry was hardly surprised and noted early in her remarks that “The expectations from all of our stakeholders that they need more revenue generation across multiple Games, all of us trying to raise more revenues.”
Early in her 14-minute address, she made the case for the importance of sport:
“Our Movement is, I believe, more relevant today because of all these things, because of the geopolitics, because of the divide, because of the tension across our regions, because of the ever-changing technology that changes things daily for us and how we run an event, how fans engage with us, how young people engage with us, but we are – I believe – at a bit of a crossroads.
“And we’re going to make it through, we’re going to make sure our Olympic Movement remains relevant, but we’re only going to be able to do that if we do it together.”
Referring to a series of meetings that had taken place on Tuesday, she explained that the process of how the Brisbane 2032 program will be made is just as important as the actual decisions:
“I know that not everyone will be happy, but I do hope that you can at least see from the work that’s been done that we’re just trying to identify a process in which we can all thrive. And in which we can try to make the most relevant Olympic program in the future.
“I thank you for that. I thank you for being super-open. I’m really grateful for all of the feedback you all gave yesterday. It’s really, really important to have this dialogue with each of you. …
“We know that the future matters. And being fit for what we want to see in the future is a challenge, but it is a really great opportunity. It’s an opportunity that we have to showcase to the world that we are transparent, that we are a trusted partner, that we are a genuine partner. These things matter to athletes, and these things matter to the population and to the general public.
“If they don’t have trust in us and what we’re doing, we will not be able to remain relevant, right? We have to be able to have difficult conversations in the most respectful way, but also in the most open and transparent way, knowing that we’re trying to achieve the same goal.
“We know that the Games have grown in size and that means the complexity and the cost of those Games have grown. And if we continue to allow for the Games to get bigger and bigger and bigger, it also means that when we come to revenue distribution, at some point, we’re going to have to start giving you less.
“Which is not going to make you happy and I want to make you happy, so I don’t want to give you less, so it’s in our bests interests to find ways of identifying how we can sustain the cost and the complexity without losing who we are as the Olympic Movement, without losing that inspiration, without losing that experience, for you, for your stakeholders, for our athletes. That is what we’re trying to do. That is what is going to help us be fit for what the future holds.”
Yes, cuts are coming. But this is not the end, but only a continuing step:
“June is just the first step, of so many. …
“The goal is not to destroy any sport. The goal is not to remove a discipline and to just leave you out in the cold, right? It’s to find a way in which, yes, you may not be in the program in Brisbane, but how would we bring you back? What would that look like? How do we need to change and be adaptive to new ways of doing things?
“Those are the conversations that I’m really looking forward to having with you, after June, and as we move forward and making the next decisions in and around the Brisbane 2032 program.”
The discussions are continuing and the decisions will come soon. The IOC’s Executive Board will meet in Lausanne on 9-10 June and then on 21-23 June, followed by an Extraordinary IOC Session from 24-25 June at which the recommendations of the Executive Board will be voted on.
Observed: This is a tense time for some of the International Federations which will not have some or all of their events continued from 2028 to 2032.
For The Sports Examiner review of what disciplines and sports might be the most endangered, check out our 10 May analysis here.
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