(Boxing news) The International Boxing Association Extraordinary Congress welcomed a new era to the sport as the federation changed its acronym from AIBA to IBA while also adopting a comprehensive set of new reforms developed by independent experts. A total of 107 IBA’s national federations were present to approve the changes.
“As we celebrate our 75th anniversary, I am very proud of the way IBA is quickly and comprehensively becoming fit for the future. Only a year has passed since I had the privilege of becoming President of IBA. Working together, we have already completed reforms that would not have been thought possible before,” said President Umar Kremlev. “We could not have achieved this alone. In preparing the measures approved by the members of IBA today, we have had the support of leading independent experts in sports integrity and in governance. And all of this has been made possible only with the help of resources provided by our General Partner, Gazprom.”
Among the amendments was the creation of a new Boxing Independent Integrity Unit which is set to become operational in 2022. The Board of Directors will be reduced from 28 to 18 after elections which will be held on June 30th. Extensive eligibility tests will take place which will be conducted independently to judge the candidates and changes to the Board’s composition are also expected based on enhanced eligibility criteria and imposition of term limits. A new visual identity has also been revealed to enhance IBA’s commercial viability with the new acronym of IBA at the centre of it. Despite changing its full name to International Boxing Association in 2007, IBA retained it’s old acronym ‘AIBA’ which referred to Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur. The new acronym is set to represent the beginning of an era where the highest standards of integrity are upheld and every boxer gets an equal opportunity.
“Just three days ago, the IOC gave its most recent advice to IBA, which included the adoption of governance reforms and diversifying our sources of revenue. It is a sign of how far IBA has come that we were already prepared to deliver convincing progress towards this at full speed,” continued President Kremlev. “We are doing much more than making very big improvements in individual parts of IBA. We are changing our whole culture in a lasting way. The new IBA is ready to serve the boxers of today and tomorrow, together with all those who support them.”
The IBA is already working towards developing an Olympic Qualification System and defining weight categories, subject to the approval of the IOC for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
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