IOC suspends SportAccord recognition

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended its recognition of SportAccord, whose President Marius Vizer resigned last month after sparking a row over the control of international sports federations.

Vizer had challenged the IOC's grip on global sport, accusing it of being dated and blocking the creation of new events as well as lacking transparency.

His sharply-worded comments triggered a wave of departures from the organisation, which had represented some 100 international sports federations.

Many of the departing federations accused Vizer of a unilateral move and not speaking on behalf of SportAccord's members.

The IOC said in a statement issued on Sunday (7th June) that it would support the federations "in all the initiatives being taken to restructure their representation following the serious internal problems of SportAccord."

The statement added “we do not want the clean athletes to suffer in any way from this vacuum.

“We are offering the international federations concerned all the services and advice in the fight against doping which have been offered so far by SportAccord and financed by the IOC and WADA.

"We will be making the same offer with regard to good governance as well as on match-fixing and related corruption, and the IOC is ready to provide this support directly. We must ensure that there is not a vacuum during this ongoing process."

The statement concluded “like many members of SportAccord, we are suspending our recognition and we will withhold our funding until these questions are answered and an agreement between the stakeholders has been reached.

"We are awaiting the outcome of the consultations and, when the time is right, we would like to invite these stakeholders here to discuss how services can best be provided in the future to the above-mentioned organisations."

27th May 2015 - INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE WINS IN BATTLE WITH SPORTACCORD 

12th June 2013 - AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND SPORT SPONSORSHIP MARKET WORTH $927 MILLION

18th February 2013 - IOC CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF WADA

18th December 2012 - INTERNATIONAL SPORT FEDERATIONS GENERATE $2 BILLION IN SPONSORSHIP 

19th January 2010 - SPORTACCORD DUBAI REVEALS CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

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