(ATR) European Olympic Committees president Patrick Hickey tells Around the Rings he will fight plans by the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations to put logos on Olympic uniforms, which are the domain of National Olympic Committees.
"We are going to fight it tooth and nail. We will not be rolled over and will resist this to the end," he said, reacting angrily to a proposal from the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations to ask the IOC to sanction the move. The federations made the request during their general assembly at SportAccord in Dubai.
Hickey, IOC member from Ireland, said national Olympic committees could lose out on sponsorship revenues if IFs were given the right to have logos and marks on athlete uniforms; there might even be a conflict of interest with NOC equipment suppliers.
"Many NOCs depend on selling the marketing rights to uniforms. For a lot of NOCs it is the biggest part of their income. If you let this happen and they lose it, it would be a huge blow for NOCs," Hickey said.
"I think this is a possibility, it depends on the countries, but it could dilute the sponsorship contracts of the national Olympic committees," says IOC President Jacques Rogge, himself a former president of the Belgium NOC.
Nonetheless, Rogge says the proposal from ASOIF will be considered by the IOC Executive Board. If approved it would go the IOC Session for a change in the Olympic Charter, a move which would require a two-thirds vote.
Under the Olympic Charter, it is the NOCs who have the right to send athletes to the Games.
"This has been tried in the past by individual IFs and they didn't succeed. Now it seems to be some sort of unanimous consensus to have a go," said Hickey.
"We are not prepared to let that happen. This is an attack on the NOCs. We are a united body and we have to defend our rights," headded.
"We are protected by the Olympic Charter which says very clearly that only the NOCs of the world have the right to determine the clothing."
Under the Olympic Charter, the IOC says of the NOCs: "They have the sole and exclusive authority to prescribe and determine the clothing and uniforms to be worn, and the equipment to be used, by the members of their delegations on the occasion of the Olympic Games and in connection with all sports competitions and ceremonies related thereto."
Speaking at the ASOIF meeting earlier this week, Bob Elphinston, president of the international basketball federation (FIBA), said the IFs were pushing to raise their profile at the Olympics in various ways, noting that the federations currently "get no recognition on the athlete uniforms for their sport".
He admitted that it was a "sensitive issue" with the NOCs.
Written by Mark Bisson.
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