The International Boxing Association (IBA) has lost its appeal against a decision taken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to withdraw its recognition as the sport’s international federation. The decision was made due to the IBA’s failure to comply with the IOC’s demands regarding reforms concerning governance, finance, and ethical issues. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the top court in the global sports world, announced the dismissal of the IBA’s appeal on Tuesday.
According to the CAS statement, the IOC had requested the IBA to undertake various measures to improve its financial transparency and sustainability, including diversification of revenues, and ensure the integrity of its referee and judge processes. Despite repeated requests, the IBA failed to comply with these conditions. The IOC initiated a long process shortly after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, during which the Governance Reform Group was established to propose various reforms to the IBA.
The CAS emphasized that the IBA had not implemented all the measures proposed by the Governance Reform Group, including a change of culture, and had failed to comply with the three essential elements of financial transparency and sustainability, the integrity of referee and judge processes, and governance reform. As a result, the IOC Session’s decision to withdraw recognition of the IBA was deemed justified by the CAS.
The sports court also emphasized that the IOC’s right to control the circumstances and conditions on which it confers recognition outweighed the IBA’s personality rights. The IBA’s rival body, World Boxing, has announced its intention to seek recognition from Olympic organizers to replace the IBA and keep boxing on the program for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
