Ugandans skeptical about IBA expulsion from Olympic Movement

The decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to expel the International Boxing Association (IBA) from the Olympic Movement has been met with skepticism from the Ugandan boxing fraternity.

The decision was confirmed at an Extraordinary IOC Session Thursday, after a 69-1 vote, with 10 members abstaining. This is the first time the IOC has expelled a sport's governing body, which the IBA has called “catastrophic” and a "tremendous error".

Ugandans did not welcome the idea. “I don’t think the expulsion of IBA will benefit boxing because it means the sport will be left in the hands of people who don’t understand it,” said Vicky Byarugaba, a Los Angeles 1984 Olympian and seasoned coach.

“It is going to mess up the whole thing because, now if we are going to take a team to the Olympic qualifiers, how are the boxers going to be selected?”

The IBA was initially suspended by the IOC, led by German Thomas Bach, in 2019 regarding finances, governance and the credibility of boxing competitions.

Relations further worsened in September 2022 when IBA voted Russian Umar Kremlev as president, amid the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Kremlev has repeatedly blamed IBA’s troubles on former President CK Wu—a former IOC executive board member who led IBA between 2006 and 2017. IBA banned Wu for life for "gross negligence and financial mismanagement" but Kremlev wonders why the IOC did not take action against Wu. The Chinese administrator left the IOC in 2020, citing medical advice.

"It is evident to many that the IOC's decision is not based on objective facts but on personal animosity and prejudice towards someone's nationality,” IBA retaliated in a statement.

"Such a stance categorically contradicts the Olympic Charter and the principles of non-discrimination.”

Days before the IOC decision, Uganda Boxing Federation president Moses Muhangi told Daily Monitor that IBA should plan for autonomy.

“We cannot keep on being in this relationship that does not seem to work. IBA should plan on an institution that is independent of the IOC if we are to secure the future of boxing,” said Muhangi, an ally of president Kremlev.

Musa Shadir Bwogi, who was Uganda’s captain at the Tokyo Olympics which were organised by the IOC Boxing Task Force, said the expulsion has merits and demerits.

“Well, there were still issues of biased refereeing and officiating which can be minimized by serious scrutiny under a more independent committee,” he said. “However, it might not make a big difference if the IOC still hires the same referees and judges from IBA to handle Olympic boxing.”

Boxing had initially been left off the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics but director general Christophe De Kepper guaranteed that boxing will be at Los Angeles 2028, though under a different federation, not IBA.

Meanwhile, World Boxing, a breakaway faction, is positioning itself to be that federation that will run amatuer boxing after the Paris 2024 Olympics.

So far only USA, 2028 Olympics hosts and Switzerland have joined World Boxing, with UK, Ireland, Netherlands, among others showing keen interest in joining the new force.

“Well, that could open up the arena for many boxers around the world, and create more opportunities without necessarily going through their national federations,” Shadir said. “That could mean that a boxer can participate in a given world event anywhere if he or she has the resources, without the bureaucracies of national federations, just like the Russian boxers who boxed in Tokyo through their National Olympic Committee.”

US-based professional Sharif Bogere hopes the impasse is solved: “We (boxing) needs Olympics and the whole world at large. Olympics is a global opportunity that unites the whole athletes and the countries all over the world.

We could not get a comment from the Uganda Olympic Committee president Don Rukare by press time. His phones went unanswered.