Who will succeed Thomas Bach as IOC President? With just over three months to go before the session vote, scheduled for next March in Greece (18 to 21), the answer remains as uncertain as when the seven candidates were announced. It could well remain so until election day, despite the perilous exercise of the presentation the candidates on January 30 in Lausanne, a major 15-minute speech where each will be invited to unveil their program and present their vision.
One thing is for sure: the winds of change will not necessarily blow from where they are most expected. Certainly, Sebastian Coe has shown at World Athletics, since taking over in August 2015, that he is never late with an idea or an initiative to change the scenery. But his recent statements suggest that Morinari Watanabe is not afraid to shake up the coconut tree either.
The Japanese, president of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) since 2017, recently re-elected for a new term, even promises to review everything in two of the IOC's major sectors: marketing and governance. He explained this this week in an interview with Reuters : the current marketing strategy is no longer suitable, and the power of the executive committee is clearly oversized.
Marketing, first. Morinari Watanabe has noted it, as has the rest of the Olympic movement, but perhaps with a little more attention: the IOC's Japanese partners in the global TOP program, Toyota, Bridgestone and Panasonic, will be leaving the ship at the end of the year.
For the FIG president, their departure on the same date is not a coincidence. It illustrates a gap between the amount invested and the return obtained. Very high on one side, moderate on the other. The partners pay dearly, even very dearly, but without the slightest visibility on the competition sites.
« Many Japanese companies want to sponsor the Olympics, they want to provide support, but of course they need added value, explained Morinari Watanabe. So far, the balance is not good. A lot of money is paid, but the partner does not get the benefit. This is a problem. If I were the chairman of a large company, I would suggest looking at football instead, because it allows advertising ».
The Japanese insists that the time has come for the IOC, with the prospect of a new president at the end of June, to change its approach. "The current marketing system, where 200 or 300 million are requested just to use the rings, cannot continue", he says.
The facts prove him right, but the numbers contradict him. True, the IOC's three worldwide partners in Japan have decided to spend their money elsewhere. And the body has yet to announce the arrival of a new big name within the TOP programme, despite rumors of the upcoming signing of an Indian sponsor. But Lausanne recently announced that it had secured commercial revenues of $13,5 billion for the next two Olympics.
Another change that Morinari Watanabe wants: governance. The subject is slippery, but the Japanese takes the risk. He is not afraid to say out loud what many in the Olympic movement only whisper behind the scenes: the executive board has become too powerful. It decides everything, leaving only the other members the meager privilege of validating in session decisions already taken.
« Many people want to be involved in the IOC decisions, because we are a big sports family. But the Executive Board is too strong, the Japanese confided to Reuters. Many things are decided only by the members of the commission or by the president. This is not very good. The IOC must respect the international federations and the national Olympic committees. Today, it has become too strong. The NOCs and the IFs must be closer to each other, because today it is a bit like giving them instructions. ».
A presidential candidate proposing to reduce the power of the office he aspires to is an unusual move. But it could win him some allies.
