2023-10-15 12:47:57
Several members of the International Olympic Committee, meeting in Bombay for the 141st session, called on Sunday for an extension of Thomas Bach’s presidency beyond 2025, opening the debate on a possible modification of the body’s texts.
The Olympic Charter, which serves as the Constitution of the Lausanne organization, nevertheless seemed to settle the fate of the German leader: elected in 2013 and reappointed in 2021, he cannot in principle exceed twelve years in office, i.e. two mandates of 8 then 4 years, so must leave in 2025.
But on the first day of the session which will end on Tuesday, the Algerian Mustapha Berraf proposed amending this text on behalf of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ACNOA, i.e. 54 of the 206 member countries of the IOC) which he chairs, supported by Djiboutian Aïcha Garad Ali.
“We absolutely must maintain the leadership that you have shown at the head of this organization,” added the Dominican Luis Mejia Oviedo, addressing the head of the Olympics, followed by the Paraguayan Camilo Perez Moreira, who praised his “ unifying pacifism.
More nuanced, the Japanese Morinari Watanabe, president of the International Gymnastics Federation, certainly praised the “genius” of Thomas Bach – even saying “I love you, Mr. President” – but recalled the issues of governance of sports organizations.
“Regarding the extension of your mandate, I pay attention to the type of image that we can give around the world,” he noted, recalling the “problems of corruption” which have tarnished the reputation of certain sports organizations “in the past”, an allusion in particular to the scandals of Fifa when its president Sepp Blatter was serving a fifth term.
“No decision made”
Olympic team foil champion at the 1976 Montreal Olympics and then lawyer, Thomas Bach, 69, was appointed head of the Lausanne organization in 2013, for a mandate marked by a series of reforms to reduce the cost of Olympic Games and respond to the drop in applications.
But it also encountered two major crises, first the Covid-19 epidemic which led to the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics for one year and then the confinement of the Beijing 2022 Olympics in a strict health bubble, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a challenge to his “apolitical” conception of sport.
President Thomas Bach (d) in conversation with delegates on the sidelines of the IOC session in Bombay, October 15, 2023
AFP
“You touched my heart. I always appreciate the value of this friendship, this support and even this love,” declared the Bavarian, saying he was “faithful to the texts” without further details on his intention to extend.
A possible modification of the Charter might not take place during this general assembly in Bombay: it requires to be included in the agenda of the session at least 30 days before, and to be submitted to the executive commission, recalled the vice-president of the IOC, the Australian John Coates, implicitly referring the question to 2024 at the earliest.
Asked at a press conference regarding the lack of a clear response from the president, while term limits have established themselves as a principle of good sporting governance, Thomas Bach’s spokesperson judged “inevitable that those who do not like us don’t criticize us.
“No decision has been taken (…) But I think it would be strange to deny members (of the IOC) the right to raise points that seem important to them,” continued Mark Adams.
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