Irish boxing will have to make an unprecedented decision in the coming months if it wishes to remain part of the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has informed the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) that Irish boxers will not be allowed to compete at future Games if they remain aligned to the International Boxing Association (IBA).
The IBA are no longer recognised by the IOC and boxing is currently off the roster for the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Speaking in Paris, Sarah Keane, who has been president of the OFI since 2017 and who will step down at the end of the year, said boxing must make up its mind as to which direction it wants to take. It can remain with the IBA or it can align with World Boxing and continue to compete in the Olympic Games.
World Boxing was formed in 2023 as a global governing body dedicated to ensuring the sport’s future in the Olympic Games. It has assembled 37 national federations across each continent.
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“The IOC have asked,” said Keane. “We will in the coming months have to say to the IABA [Irish Athletic Boxing Association] we can’t recognise you as a National Olympic Committee any more because the International Federation (IBA) is not recognised by the IOC.
“Decisions are being made internationally now, so the IABA will hopefully go out to its community once more to see if they want to be part of the new World Boxing or if they want to remain part of the IBA. I think that has to happen to give the community one last chance to say for sure where it wants to be and I’d like our boxers to have a voice in this. They’ll know what’s there for younger generations behind them or what mightn’t be there for younger generations behind them.
“If that happens and they vote to stay within the IBA, we’ve been asked as an Olympic committee to cease their membership in the coming months. Then it’s a case if you want boxing at the Olympic Games and if you want to support high performance this way, you have to create a new national federation.”
It is a stark choice for Irish boxing. Over the last two weeks the IBA sought to undermine the Olympic boxing competition and held a press conference in Paris that criticised the IOC’s decision to allow two boxers compete whom the IBA had banned.
The IOC have asked the IBA to make reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues, but nothing satisfactory, from an IOC viewpoint, has been forthcoming.
If Irish boxing votes to stay with the IBA, the high-performance athletes could form an alternative body, which could be recognised by the Olympic movement in Ireland and World Boxing.
“From our perspective we are very clear,” said Keane. “We support World Boxing. We will have no choice but to comply with the IOC. We hope in the next couple of months that the IABA will ask its community a question so at least then we know how they feel.
“Then if they vote in favour of change, we will do everything we can to support them around that. If they vote to stay part of the IBA, then the only way that it is going to be possible for boxing to stay as part of the Olympic Games is for a new national federation to be recognised in some shape or form, which takes on high performance and is recognised by World Boxing.”
Change is something Keane knows well, and she has been central to the transformation of the OFI following the controversy surrounding the 2016 Rio Olympics ticket scandal, which let to the arrest of the head of the then Olympic Council of Ireland, Pat Hickey.
“It’s not for me to say whether we’ve have rebuilt trust,” said Keane. “That is for the public, everybody else to say. I think everyone believes in each other and I’m not convinced that was the case [eight years ago]. There was over the years fractious relationships which did have an impact on athletes, and it had an impact on the coaches and those around them. I’m not convinced that everybody felt properly supported.”
