Sport in Discord

In his opening address to the SportAccord General Assembly yesterday in Sochi, RUS, the organisation's president, Marius Vizer, accused the International Olympic Committee and its President Thomas Bach of blocking projects he had tried to introduce, criticised the launch of the Olympic TV Channel as a waste of money and scolded the IOC for the lack of transparency and claimed that Agenda 2020 had brought "hardly any benefit" to sport. 

Bach was surprised by Vizer's attack and rebutted instantly, pointing out that many of the International Federations, several of them headed by IOC members, had contributed to Agenda 2020 and supported the proposals.

"My impression is your opinion you have exclusively for you," said Bach, directed at Vizer. 

He spent much longer than the original five minutes he had been allocated.

"I have been a little longer after this friendly welcome," he told delegates.

"What we need altogether is credibility.

"This credibility we can only achieve if we have unity in our diversity.

"I invite you to bring your diverse opinions to the table but then be united in our concerted effort."

Both speeches are included in full length in the YouTube recording below. The fallout was significant. Immediately after the General Assembly, some SportAccord member federations resigned from the organisation, others distanced themselves from the president's remarks.

Published on 21 April 2015