The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recommended to the IOC Session to withdraw recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA).
The IOC stated in a media statement that the IBA has previously been suspended due to issues with governance, financial mismanagement, and claims of anomalies in refereeing and judging during the Olympics. Wednesday’s recommendation was made in accordance with Rule 3.7 of the Olympic Charter (OC), the IOC stated.
The committee added that its board however agreed to keep the sport on the programme of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
To discuss the matter and take a final decision, the IOC EB and the IOC President have convened an Extraordinary IOC Session to be held remotely on Thursday, June 22, 2023
The decision will not have any impact on boxing’s presence in the sports programme of the 2024 Olympics in Paris and it will be conducted by IOC, just like it was done during the Tokyo 2020 Games.
It suspended the body formerly known as AIBA in 2019 over various issues, including governance, finances, transparency, refereeing and judging.
Boxing at the Tokyo 2020 Games held in 2021 was run by an IOC task force and the same is planned for the Paris Games.
Boxing is not on the provisional programme for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The IBA, led by Russian Umar Kremlev, sent a report on its state to the IOC last week and said it had addressed all of the IOC’s concerns.
But Wednesday’s IOC statement said that “the IBA has failed to fulfil the conditions set by the IOC … for lifting the suspension of the IBA’s recognition.”
A new organisation named World Boxing has recently been set up to ensure the sport’s Olympic future.
It is to be officially founded in autumn.
The U.S. and Switzerland have said they are leaving IBA and will apply for World Boxing membership, with others expected to follow.
