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“Replace AIBA within the Olympic circle”

Mohamed Moustahsane has been the interim boss of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) since March 2019. The Moroccan decided to be a candidate for the presidency of AIBA on December 12, 2020. This doctor intends to continue to treat an institution decried and suspended by the International Olympic Committee since June 2019.

RFI : Mohamed Moustahsane, what made you decide to present your candidacy for the presidency of the International Association of Amateur Boxing (AIBA), after 20 months of interim ?

Mohamed Moustahsane : Well, at first I wasn’t very hot. But I have received requests from all over the world, from people asking me to continue my mission and to run for the real term as president of AIBA.

I also had to wait for the return of my federation. Was the support going to be positive from the Moroccan Olympic Committee, from the Ministry of Youth and Sports in my country?

I also had to see which candidates were going to run. And, after careful consideration, I said to myself that I was in a good position to run for this mandate and to carry out this organization which has suffered for the last years.

Did you hesitate until the last minute before introducing yourself ?

Not really. The last week, I was already fixed. I was just waiting for the right moment to announce it. I waited until the last minute to do so. […] Sometimes there are early battles between candidates, with accusations and press reports that are not always ethically correct. So, avoiding this senseless battle is one of the reasons that prompted me to announce my candidacy at the last minute.

Have you yourself been the target of such allegations ?

It is enough to see certain articles or emails which emanate from certain federations. Some articles ask: why are certain media targeting certain candidates?

You therefore totally reject the allegations made against you. ?

Without a doubt. And as I have said many times already, if there was the slightest molecule of substance in all these accusations, I would have resigned from all my activities related to this sport.

There are seven candidates [1] as President of AIBA. How do you judge this situation ?

I am really proud of this figure. It is an indicator, in my eyes. This proves that AIBA has changed. It proves that, at least, as interim president, I was able to create an atmosphere of transparency and fairness for everyone. During my interim, we gave everyone the freedom to be a candidate for this position. Never in the history of AIBA had there been more than two candidates for its presidency. […]

What are your strengths compared to the other six candidates ?

My experience, I would say. I went through several stages before arriving at this interim presidency. I went from ring doctor, to head of delegation, to head of international relations, to member of the African committee, to chairman of the African committee, to member of the international committee, to vice-chairman of the international committee … I know the area very well. ‘AIBA and so I can bring it to fruition.

What are the main axes of your program ?

The main focus is to regain the recognition of AIBA in relation to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and to replace AIBA within the Olympic circle. This is the essential point.

But to achieve this result, we need to make significant changes within AIBA. We must modernize the organization, modernize the competition system, make the competition judging system more transparent.

Regarding doping, I believe that the problem has already been resolved because AIBA is working with the ITA agency. She does a wonderful job, in a very professional way.

AIBA needs to work even more on gender equality. Women should be encouraged even more to get involved in AIBA.

With all of that, we could have a new organization, with a new vision and with a flourishing future.

Which countries clearly and clearly support you ?

I am confident about the five continents. I’m sure I have supporters and people from all continents will vote for me. The support is global.

A third of African national federations will not be able to vote during the elective congress of December 12, 2020, for lack of contributions paid to AIBA. Is it a big handicap for you not to be able to count on these 16 African countries? ?

Unfortunately yes. We must not hide that there is financial and economic instability in some countries. In addition, when there is political instability, sport becomes secondary to other problems.

We have seen some federations that have ceased their activities. Especially since, following the suspension of the recognition of AIBA by the IOC, several national federations suffered the consequences of this decision. Quite a few of them have stopped all activities for lack of resources. […]

Can you take stock of the 20 months spent at the helm of AIBA, as interim president? ?

The results remain positive, I believe, despite the fact that we were not able to achieve all the objectives. We were able to maintain a certain stability within the organization. We were able to partially restructure it. But above all, we were able to change the mentality and the atmosphere within the Executive Committee. […] There is a freedom of expression, of discussion, of decision during the meetings. And there was a real commitment from all of its members to move forward. These are things that cannot be discussed. If you compare the old organization to that of the last 20 months, there have been a lot of changes.

Outside, AIBA still carries a negative image. Is it a personal disappointment ?

It is true. But we did not communicate too well about all the changes put in place. We focused on the activity and the work we had to do. I agree that there was not enough communication about all the changes made. I hope that, in the future, we will be able to become aware of all these changes made within AIBA with regard to its governance and transparency.


[1] Ramie Al-Masri (Germany), Anas Al Otaiba (United Arab Emirates), Umar Kremlev (Russia), Suleyman Mikayilov (Azerbaijan), Mohamed Moustahsane (Morocco), Domingo Solano (Dominican Republic), Boris Van der Vorst (Netherlands ).

The International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) was founded in 1946. It is this association which normally manages boxing competitions at the Olympic Games. But, since 2018, AIBA has been shaken by a violent crisis, which notably led to the departure of its president from 2017 to March 2019, the Uzbek businessman Gafur Rakhimov. Despite this political gesture and the designation of the Moroccan Mohamed Moustahsane as interim president, the IOC has decided to suspend its recognition and withdraw from the AIBA the organization of the Tokyo 2020 tournament. Since then, the body based in Lausanne works to restore an image tarnished by suspicion of corruption and bad governance. It tries to regain, in fine, the right to be in control during the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. On December 13, 2020, after the election of its new president, the AIBA Congress will vote in favor of ‘a new constitution supposed to help it regain its letters of nobility.

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