In theory, thorough reforms and a culture change in a sports federation require more than just a lot of money and public relations campaigns with the guise of transparency and fair play. Otherwise, you run the risk of fooling the world and yourself.
Like the International Boxing Association IBA, which met in Abu Dhabi in December at its “Global Boxing Forum” to discuss the current state of affairs with speakers of repute and reputation. The message was persistently announced that everything was fine. It doesn’t matter whether it’s from President Umar Kremlev in his native Russian: “Everyone works as a team. And very important decisions were made”, or by the Greek General Secretary George Yerolimpos in English: “Athletes, trainers, national federations, board of directors are all very united now. They are all united around IBA, which is the home of the boxing. ”
Stand together, was the slogan – the players and coaches, the national associations and the board of the IBA. But it has been clear for a few weeks at the latest: the complete opposite is the case. The IBA threatens to break up.
Ongoing criticism of the IBA from the IOC
The reason: the ongoing criticism of the reform efforts by the IOC, which a few years ago had withdrawn the association from the role of organizer of the boxing competitions as part of the Olympic Games. And a long list of complaints about the work of the Russian president, who has been in office since the end of 2020. He had brought the energy company Gazprom on board with its millions in order to restructure the heavily indebted company. But in return he gathered a lot of yes-men around him who support his position of power.
The American association, which decided to boycott the women’s World Cup in New Delhi in March and the men’s counterpart in Tashkent in May, has compiled the most massive allegations. A protest action which, according to the latest information, has been joined by Canada, Ireland, Sweden and the Czech Republic. In addition, Great Britain, which has so far only canceled participation in the Women’s World Cup.
The long list of complaints USA Boxing CEO Mike McAtee described to his members ten days ago is unmistakable. “The IBA has failed to carry out its stated mandate to promote, support and regulate the sport of boxing worldwide in accordance with the requirements and spirit of the Olympic Charter and has disregarded its own constitution.”
Insufficient processing of the past
The individual points include the inadequate processing of the disastrous past. Including: “No public announcement of any action or sanctions against those identified in the IBA-commissioned McLaren reports.”
There are also financial inconsistencies and a disregard for a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which overturned Kemlew’s re-election last year.
There is no shortage of fire accelerators in this conflict, says journalist and boxing expert Bertram Job, who has observed the milieu with skepticism for many years. Downtown? The president. “Kremlev is known to have close ties with Putin. And then stories like this have surfaced: Why is Kremlev meeting with President Putin last year, 14 days after the Russian army reduced the boxing training center in Kharkov to rubble? On top of that, Kremlev is very power-oriented and tries very hard to hold on to his position.”
Bertram: “The by-elections requested by the CAS did not take place”
Just like in September in Armenia at a special congress, when it was about him personally and the aforementioned CAS judgment. “Kremlev had the delegates in Yerevan vote on whether they would even like to vote again. Three quarters said ‘no’. And so the by-elections requested by the CAS did not take place. Strangely enough, the power supply failed during the vote. This also affected the entire computer world.”
Given such conditions, the prospects for an improvement in relations with the IOC are extremely poor. With massive consequences: “The associations in the USA and Europe depend on this Olympic idea. As soon as boxing is no longer held under the Olympic umbrella, there will no longer be any subsidies from the national Olympic federations. More and more resistance is forming behind the scenes. It has also already been agreed that, in the worst case, they might even found their own world association. And this world association would immediately seek the recognition of the IOC.”
It is not yet entirely clear how the German boxing association will deal with the escalation. A decision is expected within the next week. However, a trend can be seen, says Job. The ongoing dispute with the IOC has produced a curious scheduling conflict. “The situation for the men is as follows: In May, boxing is to take place in Tashkent at the world championships. Two to three weeks later, the same German athletes would have to move near Kraków to qualify for the Olympic Games there. In case of doubt, the Olympic qualifications are more important than the World Championships. That’s why you will probably not take part in the world championships for sporting reasons.”