Coe outlines plans to decentralise federations in IAAF president bid
SEBASTIAN COE, Peer of the Realm, has for so long been a politician that there are two generations for whom his athletics accomplishments rest in the realm of ancient history.
Having piloted London 2012 through the perilous passage from a grandiose dream to a gigantic accomplishment, the double-Olympic 1500 metres champion is now on the home-straight of what might prove his worthiest challenge yet: to lead the IAAF, the sport’s international governing body, from the middle of the pack back up to the head of the field.
His lone adversary in a presidential campaign that concludes next month in Beijing is a legend himself, Ukraine’s pole vaulter supreme Sergey Bubka.
Coe’s lobbying tour has taken him to all six continents and twice around the globe. “This has been pretty much fulltime,” he reveals. “But it also reinforced my view that we have to do things differently in the future. We have to decentralise. We have to make sure the 214 Federations are not treated to a one-size-fits-all approach. But to do that, we have to make sure the right level of funding is going in to allow them to do what we’re asking.”
In London last night to press yet more flesh in his cause, he unveiled a plan to provide what he has christened an Olympic Athletics Dividend, a grant of around £60,000 to be provided to each nation to nurture their grassroots and allow even the most humble of organisations to plant their seeds and let them grow. Few have the scale of UK Athletics or the ability to finance huge appearance fees to the likes of Usain Bolt and Mo Farah in front of huge crowds. Others, he says, need help.
“I spoke to one Federation president and out of her last two pay packets as a high-school teacher, she has spent money on pots of paint to keep the lines on the track while hoping cricket doesn’t take them away,” he recounts. “Another Federation president paid for the athletes and their fare for the bus to the championships.” They have votes, of course. A $22m-fund, carved from Olympic television money, will be spread far and wide. “This is not the back of a fag packet. This has been scrutinised carefully. We need to have strong governing bodies and federations who know what they need to do.”
It will not, and cannot, be the sole focus, not in a sport whose brand is still tainted and whose star has waned since his glorious heyday. Finding a sponsor for the Diamond League circuit will be an immediate priority. New formats, new audiences. Plus that negativity to overcome. The current circus surrounding Mo Farah’s coach Alberto Salazar is not isolated. Suspicions are rife. Credibility fluctuates. Even those who are spotlessly clean are confronted by doubters.
Rigorous testing must be extended. The IAAF, he foresees, will put those ranked in the world’s top 20 under additional scrutiny. But, he adds: “I’m not motivated by the need to clean up track and field. I’ve been involved for nearly half a century. I’ve broken 11 world records. I’ve led a team to the most successful Olympic event ever. I think I’m at the right point to devote the next 10 years to making sure this is a strong sport.
“This is not a basket case. It’s a strong sport.”