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 A rare public confrontation that began last month with a scathing
attack by SportAccord President Marius Vizer on the IOC has
essentially ended with the complete isolation of SportAccord, an
umbrella organization for some 100 sports federations.
Dozens of them, including most Olympic federations, have either
withdrawn their membership of SportAccord or made their opposition
to Vizer's comments public, siding with the IOC.
Vizer had accused the IOC of lacking transparency and blocking new
events, calling their system "expired, outdated, wrong, unfair and
not at all transparent."
Even after Vizer proposed a meeting with the IOC to clear the air
with a 20-point agenda that included major demands in favor of his
members, federations continued to drop out of SportAccord en masse.
In an interview with Reuters last week, Vizer, the head of the
International Judo Federation, cried foul, accusing IOC President
Thomas Bach of pulling federations' strings in the background.
"They (the IOC) did not analyze my proposals but just took measures
to punish me because I expressed a voice on behalf of me and
millions of sports people," Vizer said.
"I was straight and direct and I feel that president Bach has stayed
just behind all the story, in the shadows."
COMPLETE CONTROL
It is clear that Bach, elected in 2013, has emerged the big winner
in this conflict against a potential competitor, who was eager to
increase his control over federations.
Vizer took over SportAccord two years ago and immediately announced
the United World Championships, an event the IOC saw as possible
competition to the Olympics.
It never materialized after he opted to break them down into four
smaller events so as not to threaten the IOC -- but the battle lines
had been drawn.
Federations are the lifeline of the Olympics. They bring the big
names to the Games, making them the IOC's most valuable stakeholder.
A lack of top athletes would mean no top sponsors nor top
broadcasting deals.
"I believe it was about making a point, about telling other
potential threats and the world of sport that Bach and the IOC are
in complete control," an Olympics expert, speaking on condition of
anonymity, told Reuters.
"Pressure or no pressure, anyone out there planning to challenge the
IOC will now have to think twice after seeing what happened to
SportAccord."
Vizer's position has been severely compromised with many federations
saying he is no longer speaking on their behalf and demanding an
apology to the IOC.
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Peru's Olympic Committee, who had been set to organize SportAccord's
2017 World Combat Games in Lima, also pulled the plug on Sunday,
telling Vizer they were siding with the IOC.
The World Combat Games have lost five of six Olympic sports, with
only judo, the federation Vizer heads, remaining.
OLYMPIC CASH
Yet alleged pressure is not enough to lead federations to side with
the IOC. It is also the IOC's financial structure that ensures
millions of dollars are distributed to them after each Olympics.
Just under $300 million was divided between the 28 federations after
the 2008 Beijing Olympics and that figure went up to a staggering
$519 million for 26 sports after London 2012 due to even greater
broadcasting deals.
Rights deals have continued to grow and the Rio de Janeiro 2016
Games will flush further cash into their coffers.
Many Olympic federations depend on these revenues for their entire
existence in the four-year cycle between Games and this cash
injection is something neither Vizer nor SportAccord can replace any
time soon.
"What is the relevance of SportAccord now? The Olympic federations
are safe but non-Olympic federations are in a very awkward position
at the moment," said the Olympic expert. "There is a division now
that no one wants and that was created by SportAccord."
The organization was never crucial for major sports but minor,
non-Olympic federations used that platform -- an annual convention
and a string of multi-sports events -- to increase global exposure
and tap into new revenue streams.
A group of 23 such sports wrote to Bach and Vizer on Monday in a
desperate plea to find common ground.
With the IOC boss unwilling to meet before briefing the Executive
Board in June, time is running out for Vizer with Bach holding all
the cards.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ian Chadband)
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