IOC elects nine new members but snubs FIFA and IAAF again

Afghan women’s basketball player among 9 elected

Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics organizing committee, delivers a speech during the 133rd IOC session in Buenos Aires

on Oct 8. (AFP)

committee said the Olympic budget was 1.35 trillion yen, or about $12 billion.

This consisted of equal contributions of 600 billion yen ($5.3 billion) from the organizing committee and the Tokyo metropolitan government, with another 150 billion yen ($1.3 billion) coming from the national government.

But a month later, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said the city needed to chip in an added 810 billion yen ($7.2 billion) “for projects directly and indirectly related to the games.” She said

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 9, (RTRS): The International Olympic Committee admitted nine new members on Tuesday but snubbed both soccer’s FIFA and athletics’ IAAF again as both have struggled with widespread corruption and doping scandals.

Greece, host of the first modern games, was also left out in the cold for the third year running, in the wake of bitter disputes there over control of the national Olympic committee.

Morinari Watanabe and Andrew Parsons, the heads of the international gymnastics federation (FIG) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) respectively, were among those to join the committee.

They were joined by Italian Olympic Committee

this included building barrier-free facilities for Paralympic athletes, training programs for volunteers, and advertising and tourism plans.

This raised the overall costs to 2.16 trillion yen, or about $19.1 billion.

The IOC and local organizers dispute these are Olympic expenses, describing them as “regular administrative costs” that fall “outside the overall games budget.”

Flyvberg credited organizers of recent Olympics with trying to control costs, but tight Olympic deadlines make it difficult. Other large building projects

President Giovanni Malago, whose country is bidding for the 2026 winter Games.

The other IOC inductees were senior national Olympic committee members Samira Ashgari from Afghanistan, Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck from Bhutan, Daina Gudzineviciute from Lithuania, Camilo Perez Lopez Moreira from Paraguay, Felicite Rwemarika from Rwanda and William Blick from Uganda. While membership of the IOC for the heads of soccer and athletics, two of the world’s largest federations, was seen as almost automatic for years, the committee did not propose FIFA President Gianni Infantino or IAAF President Sebastian Coe this time.

Despite presiding over two of the most popular

can be pushed back a few months. Not the Olympics.

He also said it was inefficient for different cities to keep organizing the games.

“All you can do when problems begin – and problems always begin on projects of this size – is to throw more money at the project,” Flyvberg said.

Another Tokyo cost increase popped up a few days ago.

A 178-page report by the Board of Audit said the national government’s share of spending had increased to 801 billion yen ($7.1 billion) from the $1.3

sports in the world, FIFA and the IAAF have been embroiled in a range of scandals in recent years.

The IOC also snubbed Greece – host of the first modern Games – for the third year running, leaving it without a representative since 2015.

Greece, which provided the first President of the IOC in 1894 and stages the Games’ torch-lighting ceremony on the ancient site of Olympia, had at least one IOC member continuously from 1894 to 2015.

But infighting in recent years over who runs the national Olympic committee as well as a complete lack of international lobbying by the country are seen as the main reasons for it not being on the IOC since 2015.

billion estimated back in December.

This brings total spending to 2.81 trillion yen, or just under $25 billion, with suggestions it could reach 3 trillion when the games open in just under two years.

The report said “a large amount of spending was expected to continue after 2018 leading up to the event.”

The report urged organizers, the Tokyo city government, central government, and local agencies to increase transparency. In a statement Tuesday to The Associated Press, local organizers again disputed what should be called Olympic costs.

Spokesman Masa Takaya said expenditures listed such as “inbound tourism, road constructions, subsidy for creating a hydrogen society, and even improving accuracy of weather forecasts with better satellites,” should not be considered Olympic expenses.

The audit report also faulted Tokyo organizers for excluding other expenses from the budget. The report said these came to about 650 billion yen ($5.6 billion) and included things like: repairs to existing buildings; security costs; the cost of running doping facilities.