Paris 2024 boxing qualification system to achieve a fair process for all NOCs

06/12/2022

The delivery model for the Paris 2024 Olympic boxing competition and Olympic boxing qualifiers was discussed today by the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Achieving a fair process for all NOCs – with the same number of qualification events available to their boxers, regardless of weight category;
An increased number of qualification opportunities in comparison to Tokyo 2020;
Retaining the Athlete Eligibility Criteria successfully used in the Tokyo 2020 boxing qualification system;
Reviewing the quota place distribution per weight category in comparison to the International Boxing Association (IBA)’s proposal; and
Reviewing the quota place distribution per qualification tournament in comparison to IBA’s proposal.

The new qualification system was approved by the IOC EB in September and is based on direct qualification through selected competitions, including the use of NOC regional multisport events as Olympic boxing qualification tournaments. Following the continental phase of the quota place allocation, two world qualification tournaments are planned to be held in 2024, with the goal of providing a balance in terms of geographical opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Details can be found here.

This process puts boxers first, reducing the complexity of the qualification process by using existing regional events and giving up to three qualification opportunities, ultimately achieving a fair and equal pathway for all boxers.

The “Paris 2024 Boxing Event Regulations” for the qualification tournaments and the Olympic Games are due to be published as early as possible in 2023.

With regard to anti-doping, the testing at the Olympic qualification tournaments will be carried out in addition to IBA’s existing programme, in close collaboration with the International Testing Agency (ITA).

New boxing qualification system approved for Paris 2024

08/09/2022

A new boxing qualification system for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 was approved by the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today after a full update on the situation of boxing, including governance issues within the International Boxing Association (IBA).

Boxers’ pathway to Paris 2024 approved

After deciding last June that the boxing qualifying events and competitions for Paris 2024 would not be run under the authority of the IBA, the IOC EB was presented with an additional qualification model, which was approved during its meeting in Lausanne.

Designed by the IOC in close collaboration with boxing experts, the new qualification system is based on direct qualification through selected competitions, including the use of National Olympic Committee (NOC) regional multisport events as Olympic boxing qualification tournaments. The responsibility for the boxing competitions in the following events will therefore not lie with the IBA, and alternative arrangements will be put in place with the respective event organisers:

Pan-American Games – Santiago 2023
European Games – Krakow 2023
Pacific Games – Honiara 2023
Asian Games – Hangzhou 2022 (taking place in 2023)
ANOCA (Africa) multisport event to be confirmed

Following the continental phase of the quota place allocation, two world qualification tournaments are planned to be held in 2024.

The new Olympic qualification process puts boxers first, lowering the complexity of the qualification process by using existing regional events and giving up to three qualification opportunities, ultimately achieving a fair and equal pathway for all boxers.

Remaining concerns over IBA

The various IOC concerns around the governance of the IBA, including the refereeing and judging process and the IBA’s financial dependency on the state-owned company Gazprom, are still ongoing.

The IOC EB today received a report on the issues related to competition management and refereeing and judging processes highlighted by independent experts during the boxing competition at the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

It also noted that no clear efforts have been made by the IBA to respect and fully implement the roadmap set out by the IOC EB in December 2021 with regard to the IBA’s governance.

As a consequence, the IOC EB has sent a letter to the IBA informing it of the IOC’s ongoing grave concern. Boxing is currently not included in the sports programme of the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 and, considering the absence of any real evolution, the IOC Executive Board is not in a position to reverse its decision. This letter will be shared with the NOCs and national boxing federations.

IOC EB: IBA not in position to run qualifying events and boxing competitions for Paris 2024

24/06/2022

In the interest of the athletes and the boxing community, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided that the boxing qualifying events and competitions at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will not be run under the authority of the International Boxing Association (IBA).

The decision is centred on the athletes and the need to provide certainty on the Olympic competitions and qualifications leading to Paris 2024. It follows the continuing and very concerning issues of the IBA, such as its governance and its refereeing and judging system.

The IOC administration will finalise on an exceptional basis alternative models for the organisation of these boxing competitions, working closely with the Paris 2024 Organising Committee and athletes’ representatives. The outcomes of these discussions and suggested recommendations will then be presented to the IOC EB in due course.

Whether or not boxing will be included on the sports programme of the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 will be discussed at a later stage.

Continuing concerns

The various IOC concerns around the governance of the IBA, including the refereeing and judging process and its financial dependency on the state-owned company Gazprom, are still ongoing.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced on 14 June 2022 that the decision of the IBA Interim Nominations Unit, which had deemed the presidential candidate Boris van der Vorst and three other electoral candidates ineligible for election the day prior to the scheduled IBA elections, had been overturned. The CAS arbitrator accepted the request that they be reinstated as eligible candidates. Furthermore, the CAS stated that Umar Kremlev had committed the same rule violation yet had been admitted to the election as the sole candidate.

With regard to the planned IBA qualification pathway to Paris 2024, the IOC EB noted that no host-city agreements had been signed for the qualification competitions and that there was an insufficient number of certified referees and judges to deliver the planned events.

Background information

Following an investigation and report by an IOC Inquiry Committee in 2019, recognition of the International Boxing Association (at that time still called AIBA) was suspended by the IOC. This suspension is still in force today. Following the suspension, the IOC created a special Task Force with the remit to deliver the qualification events for the boxing tournament at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Led by IOC Member and President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Morinari Watanabe, the Boxing Task Force delivered a clear, fair and transparent pathway for boxers to qualify for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and ensured a fair and just competition, both on the road to Tokyo and at the Games.

###

The International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit, civil, non-governmental, international organisation made up of volunteers which is committed to building a better world through sport. It redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, which means that every day the equivalent of USD 4.2 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.

###

For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000, email: pressoffice@olympic.org, or visit our web site at www.ioc.org.

Broadcast quality footage

The IOC Newsroom: http://iocnewsroom.com/

Videos

YouTube: www.youtube.com/iocmedia

Photos

For an extensive selection of photos available shortly after each event, please follow us on Flickr.

To request archive photos and footage, please contact our Images team at: images@olympic.org.

Social media

For up-to-the-minute information on the IOC and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter and YouTube.