IOC Press Conference Day 2: President Thomas Bach reveals members motives of term extension proposal
141st IOC Session approves LA28’s proposal for five additional sports
LAUSANNE, October 16, 2023 – The International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach opened day two of the 141st IOC Session Press Conference in Mumbai, moderated by IOC Spokesman’s Service Director Mark Adams. The President, alongside the IOC Executive Board Members, have expressed their sympathy for the innocent victims of the terrible violence happening in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Adding that “So far, it has no effect yet on the participation in sports regarding events that had to be postponed in Israel. Athletes in Palestine and Israel are facing war, and obviously cannot continue their sports life as usual. We don’t know how this will take, and which long-term effects it may have, that’s beyond our knowledge, we have to wait and continue monitoring.”
PALESTINE-ISRAEL CONFLICT The recent Palestinian-Israeli conflict is becoming increasingly worrying each day, promoting a serious health crisis in the Gaza Strip, leaving thousands killed under rubble and injured. Gaza officially announced to the United Nations the collapse of the health system, with the interruption of electricity, food, and water in the Strip, forcing the displacement of 1.1 million Palestinians residing in northern Gaza to its south.
POSSIBLE MANDATE EXTENSION The IOC President’s mandate can possibly extend beyond 2025, as a number of IOC members proposed an extension of the term limit for the role of president to allow Thomas Bach to seek four more years in office after his current term ends in 2025.
REASONING IOC President stated: “I heard some rumours that some IOC members wanted me to continue my mandate, I did not expect that this would be brought up to the IOC session. After yesterday’s session, I spoke with some IOC colleagues and members that concluded the reasoning behind it”
The IOC President concluded the reasoning of the mandate extension proposal into two:
1- A number of colleagues “think and feel” that an election campaign so early before the election would disrupt the preparation for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, something vital for the Olympic movement.
2- A proposal that expresses the recognition for the incredible work accomplished by the IOC in the last ten years.
President Bach added: “I believe this is human. I was really touched and appreciated very much this show of support and friendship for me. It is a matter of mutual respect and personal relationship that are not to be dismissed.” Not mentioning his personal decision on the matter, but he explained his uninterrupted passion for being part of the Olympic movement.
NEW SPORTS AT THE OLYMPICS Cricket sealed a return to the Olympic programme in Los Angeles 2028, joined by baseball and softball, flag football, lacrosse and squash for Los Angeles 2028. These five sports, especially cricket, have unmatched growing popularity in recent years. “At this moment, we have every reason to believe that the best cricket athletes are ready and looking forward to playing at the Olympics” President Bach added.
CRICKET RETURNS IN LA 2028 The growing international importance of cricket, a sport that only once appeared in the 1900 Paris Olympics will officially return to the Olympic programme in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The decision was largely a formality, after Los Angeles 2028 revealed its proposed additional sports on October 9, last week, then received approval from the IOC Olympic Programme Commission and the Executive Board on Friday, October 13.
A mutual interest in the growing importance of cricket in the United States and worldwide gave the green light for the LA 2028 organizing committee and the IOC to jointly decide on the return of cricket to the Olympic calendar in LA 2028.
Why did it take the IOC 125 years to include cricket in the Olympic Games?
IOC President answered: “I cannot speak about 50+ years before, but I can say that in recent years, cricket has evolved very much, as everyone can see. With proven numbers rising, we have been made aware of this and beyond, like the great development of cricket in India as reported by our IOC member Nita Ambani. We had this discussion with the Organizing Committee of LA 2028 Olympic Games."
RUSSIA/BELARUS ATHLETES It has been more than six months since the IOC gave their latest update on recommendations on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, confirming the Olympic Charter’s inclusivity for all athletes worldwide in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, President Bach confirmed the IOC is carefully observing the situation of World and Continental Championships that serve as qualifiers for Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and will report an update on individual athletes participating from Russian and Belarus.
Mr. McConnell provided an interim report providing an update about the overarching mission of the Olympic Games to bring the entire world together in peaceful competition.
AFGHANISTAN UNDECIDED Could Afghanistan qualify for Paris 2024 and even LA 2028 with the absence of female representation? James MacLeod, head of the IOC's NOC relation, previously said the participation of Afghanistan at the Paris 2024 Olympics has "not yet been decided". The efforts in Afghanistan to improve accessibility and inclusivity "remained insufficient".
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board has urged the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan Government to make "significant progress" to ensure women and young girls access to sports as the country’s place at next year’s Olympics in Paris hangs in the balance.
CRICKET & AFGHAN WOMEN With the return of cricket to the Olympic programme of LA 2028, the cricket team of Afghanistan lacks a female presence, endangering their possibility of qualifying for the Olympics in 2028, most of the Afghan cricket women’s team sought refuge in Australia after the ban on women by the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan since 2021. IOC President Bach said “Despite the ban on women’s sports in Afghanistan. Mr. MacLeod’s report saw the participation of Afghanistan in the Asian Games [Hangzhou 2021], with significant, if not majority female representation.
“We are encouraged by our IOC Member Samira Asghari, to continue our support for exiled Afghan female athletes and their entourage as we are doing now.
“In this broader context, cricket will also be considered [for Afghan women], as there will be a decision on the situation of the [Afghan] NOC”.
Adding that “So far, it has no effect yet on the participation in sports regarding events that had to be postponed in Israel. Athletes in Palestine and Israel are facing war, and obviously cannot continue their sports life as usual. We don’t know how this will take, and which long-term effects it may have, that’s beyond our knowledge, we have to wait and continue monitoring.”
PALESTINE-ISRAEL CONFLICT The recent Palestinian-Israeli conflict is becoming increasingly worrying each day, promoting a serious health crisis in the Gaza Strip, leaving thousands killed under rubble and injured. Gaza officially announced to the United Nations the collapse of the health system, with the interruption of electricity, food, and water in the Strip, forcing the displacement of 1.1 million Palestinians residing in northern Gaza to its south.
POSSIBLE MANDATE EXTENSION The IOC President’s mandate can possibly extend beyond 2025, as a number of IOC members proposed an extension of the term limit for the role of president to allow Thomas Bach to seek four more years in office after his current term ends in 2025.
REASONING IOC President stated: “I heard some rumours that some IOC members wanted me to continue my mandate, I did not expect that this would be brought up to the IOC session. After yesterday’s session, I spoke with some IOC colleagues and members that concluded the reasoning behind it”
The IOC President concluded the reasoning of the mandate extension proposal into two:
1- A number of colleagues “think and feel” that an election campaign so early before the election would disrupt the preparation for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, something vital for the Olympic movement.
2- A proposal that expresses the recognition for the incredible work accomplished by the IOC in the last ten years.
President Bach added: “I believe this is human. I was really touched and appreciated very much this show of support and friendship for me. It is a matter of mutual respect and personal relationship that are not to be dismissed.” Not mentioning his personal decision on the matter, but he explained his uninterrupted passion for being part of the Olympic movement.
NEW SPORTS AT THE OLYMPICS Cricket sealed a return to the Olympic programme in Los Angeles 2028, joined by baseball and softball, flag football, lacrosse and squash for Los Angeles 2028. These five sports, especially cricket, have unmatched growing popularity in recent years. “At this moment, we have every reason to believe that the best cricket athletes are ready and looking forward to playing at the Olympics” President Bach added.
CRICKET RETURNS IN LA 2028 The growing international importance of cricket, a sport that only once appeared in the 1900 Paris Olympics will officially return to the Olympic programme in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The decision was largely a formality, after Los Angeles 2028 revealed its proposed additional sports on October 9, last week, then received approval from the IOC Olympic Programme Commission and the Executive Board on Friday, October 13.
A mutual interest in the growing importance of cricket in the United States and worldwide gave the green light for the LA 2028 organizing committee and the IOC to jointly decide on the return of cricket to the Olympic calendar in LA 2028.
Why did it take the IOC 125 years to include cricket in the Olympic Games?
IOC President answered: “I cannot speak about 50+ years before, but I can say that in recent years, cricket has evolved very much, as everyone can see. With proven numbers rising, we have been made aware of this and beyond, like the great development of cricket in India as reported by our IOC member Nita Ambani. We had this discussion with the Organizing Committee of LA 2028 Olympic Games."
RUSSIA/BELARUS ATHLETES It has been more than six months since the IOC gave their latest update on recommendations on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, confirming the Olympic Charter’s inclusivity for all athletes worldwide in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, President Bach confirmed the IOC is carefully observing the situation of World and Continental Championships that serve as qualifiers for Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and will report an update on individual athletes participating from Russian and Belarus.
Mr. McConnell provided an interim report providing an update about the overarching mission of the Olympic Games to bring the entire world together in peaceful competition.
AFGHANISTAN UNDECIDED Could Afghanistan qualify for Paris 2024 and even LA 2028 with the absence of female representation? James MacLeod, head of the IOC's NOC relation, previously said the participation of Afghanistan at the Paris 2024 Olympics has "not yet been decided". The efforts in Afghanistan to improve accessibility and inclusivity "remained insufficient".
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board has urged the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan Government to make "significant progress" to ensure women and young girls access to sports as the country’s place at next year’s Olympics in Paris hangs in the balance.
CRICKET & AFGHAN WOMEN With the return of cricket to the Olympic programme of LA 2028, the cricket team of Afghanistan lacks a female presence, endangering their possibility of qualifying for the Olympics in 2028, most of the Afghan cricket women’s team sought refuge in Australia after the ban on women by the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan since 2021. IOC President Bach said “Despite the ban on women’s sports in Afghanistan. Mr. MacLeod’s report saw the participation of Afghanistan in the Asian Games [Hangzhou 2021], with significant, if not majority female representation.
“We are encouraged by our IOC Member Samira Asghari, to continue our support for exiled Afghan female athletes and their entourage as we are doing now.
“In this broader context, cricket will also be considered [for Afghan women], as there will be a decision on the situation of the [Afghan] NOC”.
News from the same category
