LAUSANNE: The International Olympic Committee has confirmed that the heads of the world federations of athletics and football are not wanted among their elite membership.

Athletics is the core sport of the Games while football pulls the largest aggregate attendance for its matches but both Lord Sebastian Coe of the International Association of Athletics Federations and Gianni Infantino from world football’s governing body FIFA have been overlooked in proposals for new members to be set before the IOC session in Lima in September.

An IOC statement, confirming previous speculation said:

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will propose nine new Members for election at the 131st IOC Session in Lima.

Five of these nine new proposed Members are Individual Members. Amongst these five are three women and two men. In line with Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, the IOC Members Election Commission, chaired by HRH The Princess Royal, proposed them to the EB following a targeted recruitment process that is guided by a specific set of criteria.

Four new proposed Members, in accordance with the Olympic Charter, are representatives of the constituents of the Olympic Movement: the National Olympic Committees (NOC) and the International Federations (IF). These four have been chosen in close consultation with the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).

These nine candidates offer various skillsets and come from backgrounds as diverse as sports, management, volunteering, engineering, business administration, commerce and tourism, the media and NGOs. All of them can bring skills and experience needed by the IOC, and aim to further strengthen the ranks of the Olympic Movement in the years to come.

All proposed members have been vetted by the IOC Ethics Commission, which has conducted integrity checks.

The nine candidates are:

Five proposed Individual Members:

Baklai TEMENGIL

(Female, Palau, ONOC Vice-President, Individual Member, 23.10.1966)

Jiri KEJVAL

(Male, Czech Republic, President of the Czech Olympic Committee, Individual Member, 30.11.1967)

Kristin KLOSTER AASEN

(Female, Norway, Vice-President of the Norwegian Olympic Committee, Individual Member, 04.01.1961)

Khunying Patama LEESWADTRAKUL

(Female, Thailand, President of the Badminton Association of Thailand, Individual Member, 16.02.1965)

Luis MEJIA OVIEDO

(Male, Dominican Republic, President of the Dominican Republic Olympic Committee, Individual Member, 04.09.1953)

Two proposed Members representing an NOC or a continental association of NOCs:

Neven Ivan ILIC ALVAREZ

(Male, Chile, PASO President, Member representing an NOC or a continental association of NOCs, 04.04.1962)

Khalid Muhammad AL ZUBAIR

(Male, Oman, President of the Oman Olympic Committee, Member representing an NOC or a continental association of NOCs, 23.11.1970)

Two proposed Members representing an IF:

Jean-Christophe ROLLAND

(Male, France, Olympic rowing champion, President of World Rowing, Member representing an IF, 03.07.1968)

Ingmar DE VOS

(Male, Belgium, President of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, member representing an IF, 05.08.1963)

IOC president Thomas Bach said: “These nine candidates will add to the huge range of knowledge and experience within the IOC membership. In line with Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC has taken another step towards a more diverse membership, which will continue to drive reform and reflect the world in which we live,” .

In addition, the IOC EB was informed that the family of Kun-Hee Lee has asked the IOC not to consider him for re-election as an IOC Member.

The addition of nine new Members and the withdrawal of Mr Kun-Hee Lee would bring the total number of Members to 103.

The 131st IOC Session is scheduled to take place from 13 to 16 September 2017.

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