Summit meeting, Monday November 4, in Lausanne. Marius L. Vizer, the President of SportAccord, and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, the President of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), signed a partnership and cooperation agreement on behalf of their organizations. An alliance that says a lot about their respective ambitions.
The numbers, first. A sort of “umbrella” bringing together the international federations of Olympic and non-Olympic sports, SportAccord represents 93 global organizations, plus 16 “associate members”. Its president, the Austrian of Romanian origin Marius L. Vizer, also heads the International Judo Federation. He was elected head of SportAccord last May to succeed Hein Verbruggen, the former boss of world cycling.
ANOC, for its part, brings together 205 national Olympic committees around the world. It is chaired by Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, one of the most influential men in the Olympic movement. The wealthy Kuwaiti, former president of OPEC, heads the Kuwaiti Handball Federation, the Association of Olympic Committees of Asia and Olympic Solidarity. A leader with multiple hats, therefore.
In Lausanne, on Monday, Marius Vizer and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah signed with great fanfare a document whose purpose is to better “connect” SportAccord and ANOC. A ‘strong alliance’ meant to benefit both parties. A rapprochement intended, according to the official speech, to develop a “global sports movement”, but in compliance with the Olympic charter and the ideals of major world organizations.
The IOC can therefore sleep soundly, without fear of seeing its power and its influence threatened by one or the other of these two forces. In reality, this now formal alliance favors the interests and ambitions of its two signatories. Marius L. Vizer has never hidden the fact that he intended to give SportAccord new impetus, in particular through the creation of World Games. A project that he will be able to carry out more easily if he knows he is supported by all or part of the national Olympic committees.
As for Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, his influence is no secret. It was already huge, but it will be even bigger with the support of Marius L. Vizer and SportAccord.
