Some encounters are never accidental. IOC President Thomas Bach traveled to Kuwait City for the weekend at the invitation of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah. Officially, to ensure his presence at the meeting of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), chaired by Sheikh Ahmad. Above all, to lay the foundations for the future of the Olympic movement with his “friend and ally”, Sheikh Ahmad.
The two men held a joint press conference on Sunday morning in the brand new premises of the Asian Olympic Association (OCA), also chaired by Sheikh Ahmad. In the front row of the audience, some of the most influential figures of the Olympic movement: the Moroccan Nawal El Moutawakel, the Ivorian Lassana Palenfo, the Australian Kevan Gosper, the South African Sam Ramsamy, the American Larry Probst . The day before, the most observant had been able to see, in the same building, the Irishman Patrick Hickey, the Romanian Marius Vizer, the Swede Gunilla Lindberg...
In short, Kuwait City was the place to be, since Friday March 28, for anyone who claims to be in the sphere of influence of the Olympism. Denis Masseglia, the president of the CNOSF, made the trip, on behalf of the ANOC marketing commission. According to the official count, no less than 41 members of the IOC crossed paths, at one time or another, in the corridors of the Symphony hotel or on the floors of the OCA headquarters.
The opportunity was too good for Thomas Bach and Sheikh Ahmad to make common cause. And make it clear that, between presidents, there is strength in unity. The Kuwaiti said he was “honored” by the arrival on his land of his “Excellence, Doctor Thomas Bach”. The German assured, with his hand on his heart, that the IOC and ANOC would “contribute together to the promotion of sport and Olympic values. » He spoke of “very close collaboration” between the two organizations. He even, surprisingly, applauded with both hands Sheikh Ahmad's plans to create "World Beach Games" and to organize every year an evening to award trophies to the best athletes on the planet.
Thomas Bach took advantage of the opportunity, and the prestige of the audience, to detail the planning of the "2020 Olympic agenda", a vast reform plan intended to modernize the IOC and, with it, the entire Olympic movement . In June 2014, the working groups will be formed. In July, the various stakeholders will be brought together for a summit, similar to the one organized last November. In September, the working group proposals and ideas suggested during the July summit will be transmitted to the various IOC commissions, which will make recommendations to the Executive Board the following month. Finally, the extraordinary session of the IOC, scheduled for December 8 and 9 in Monaco, will work on the document prepared by the said commission, with the desire to decide and submit to the vote the most consensual ideas. Thomas Bach omitted no detail. Sheikh Ahmad listened silently. Who is silent consents.
