Russian and Belarusian boxers are welcomed into the heat of competition.
This was announced by the International Boxing Association (IBA) in a press release.
“EPA is convinced that politics should not have an impact on the sport. Therefore, all athletes should have access to the same conditions,” Iba wrote in a press release.
Russian and Belarusian boxers will now be allowed to box in IBA-sponsored events with immediate effect. The return of technical posts from countries was also welcomed.
There has been quite a storm around the IBF recently. This spring, several candidates for Iba’s board of directors were disqualified, including Swedish Boxing Association Chairman Per-Axel Sjöholm and presidential candidate Boris van der Forest – just a day before the Spring Conference. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, ruled the disqualification void.
Controversial Russian President Omer Krimlev had no opposition when elections were held last May, and demands were made to elect a new president.
Extraordinary conference in Armenia
In September, an extraordinary conference was held in Yerevan, Armenia, but it was decided not to hold new presidential elections.
This has prompted a number of Western countries – including the USA, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden – to discuss the possibility of breaking away from the IBA and forming a new international federation, the Sjöholm states.
“We are now looking at how to move forward. Forming a new association is clearly a line we are in. We are waiting for in-depth comments from the IOC before continuing. We will be bringing together about 50 countries still,” Per-Axel Sjöholm wrote in a text message to TT You want us to be an Olympic sport.”
The International Olympic Committee is concerned
The International Olympic Committee told the “Inside the Games” website that it was “deeply concerned”. The IOC has also responded to the fact that the Ukrainian Federation has been suspended from the Iba. Iba announced on Tuesday that Ukrainian boxers are allowed to compete under the country’s flag.
Prior to the 2021 Beijing Olympics, Iba was no longer in charge of the qualifiers or the Olympic competitions themselves after, among other things, several refereeing scandals.
The same will happen before Paris 2024 and the International Olympic Committee has called for new leadership in boxing. So far, boxing is not included in the 2028 Olympic program either.