(Reuters) – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) appeal against a decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to withdraw recognition of it as the sport’s international federation. The IOC made the decision in June due to the IBA’s failure to implement reforms on governance, finance, and ethical issues.
In a statement, CAS said, “The IOC Session took its decision based on the recommendation issued by the IOC Executive Board on 7 June 2023 following a long process, initiated shortly after the Olympic Games Rio 2016.”
CAS further explained that during this process, the IOC had requested the IBA to take measures to address serious concerns related to governance and financial stability. However, the IBA did not comply with the conditions set by the IOC, leading to the decision to withdraw recognition.
“The IBA had not increased its financial transparency and sustainability including through diversification of revenues (nor) changed its process relating to referees and judges to ensure its integrity,” CAS stated.
The sports court also noted that the IBA had not implemented all the measures recommended by the Governance Reform Group established by the IOC, including a change of culture within the organization.
CAS emphasized that the failure to address these issues justified the IOC Session’s decision to withdraw recognition of the IBA, stating that the IOC’s right to control the circumstances and conditions of recognition was paramount.
Rival body World Boxing has announced plans to seek recognition from Olympic organizers as a replacement for the IBA in order to ensure the sport’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Christian Radnedge
