IOC warns that countries blocking athletes risk harming host bids،
Countries that exclude athletes from competition for political reasons risk harming their plans to host an Olympic Games, the IOC said on Sunday.
The “increasing politicization of sport” was flagged as a problem by Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, a member of the International Olympic Committee and former president of Croatia, in an update to world sports leaders on which countries are interested in hosting the games at the future.
Although she did not identify problem countries, Poland and Indonesia have expressed interest in hosting the 2036 Olympic Games. It is the next Summer Games that will be awarded.
Poland refused to let Russian athletes compete in this year’s European Games and Indonesia was barred by FIFA from hosting the men’s Under-20 World Cup in May because the nation Muslim majority did not want to host Israel’s matches.
“We have witnessed more and more government restrictions imposed on athletes’ access to international sports competitions,” Grabar-Kitarović said in Mumbai at the IOC annual meeting. The event opened Saturday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said his country wanted to be the 2036 host.
The IOC committee that liaises with potential candidates, chaired by Grabar-Kitarović, “must take into account any violation of the Olympic Charter at all stages of the dialogue”, she said.
“It is important that all interested parties and privileged guests commit to respecting the IOC Code of Ethics and Rules of Conduct,” she said.
The president of the Indonesian football federation, Erick Thohir, is also an elected member of the IOC, but his absence was announced at the start of the meeting on Sunday.
The decision on the organization of the 2036 Olympic Games should not be taken “before 2026 or 2027”. said Grabar-Kitarović, as part of a new process that avoids public campaigns and a contested vote. Olympic hosts were traditionally chosen when a list of candidates was presented to the 100 IOC members.
Instead, potential hosts now work behind the scenes with the IOC, allowing the preferred candidate an exclusive negotiation period to refine its plans.
Brisbane, host city of the 2032 Olympic Games, was the first to be chosen in this way two years ago, when IOC members simply approved a recommendation from the executive board chaired by their president Thomas Bach.
Grabar-Kitarović added that the choice for 2036 should be made under “new IOC leadership” – because Bach’s 12-year presidential term limit expires in 2025.
Earlier on Sunday, several IOC members asked whether Bach could remain president for an additional four-year term until 2029. That would require a change in Olympic rules, likely in July, on the eve of the 2024 Paris Games.
