Boxing may be axed from Olympics
News & Trends •
the ioc warned in july that boxing could still be axed from the 2020 tokyo olympics if the aiba did not put its house in order1 boxing risks being thrown out of the olympics unless the sports ruling body addresses grave concerns regarding its governance the international olympic committee executive board said1 the executive board of the ioc today expressed its ongoing extreme concern with the grave situation within the international boxing association aiba and its current governance the board said in a statement1 these include the circumstances of the establishment of the election list and the misleading communication within the aiba membership regarding the iocs position1 the executive board meeting in buenos aires where the youth olympic games begin on saturday said the troubles in the aiba affect not just the reputation of aiba and boxing but of sport in general1 therefore the ioc reiterates its clear position that if the governance issues are not properly addressed to the satisfaction of the ioc at the forthcoming aiba congress the existence of boxing on the olympic programme and even the recognition of aiba as an international federation recognised by the ioc are under threat1 a strongly worded ioc statement on wednesday warned that the international boxing association aiba must tackle governance issues at its upcoming congress or it could face sanctions1 in february the ioc said they were worried by the nomination of uzbek businessman gafur rakhimov for the aibas interim presidency1 however rakhimov who has been linked to organized crime by the us treasury department is now the only candidate for the presidency to be voted on at the aiba congress in moscow in november1 in attempting to force change at the aiba this year the ioc had already suspended financial contributions from the ioc to the aiba1 even though the ioc believes sweeping change is needed at the aiba the governing body voiced support for boxers themselves1 at the same time we would like to reassure the athletes that the ioc will as it has always done in such situations and is currently doing at the youth olympic games buenos aires 2018 do its utmost to ensure that the athletes do not have to suffer under these circumstances and that we will protect their olympic dream1