IBA sticking with Gazprom sponsorship as boxing still in limbo at 2028 Olympics
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The International Boxing Association is still taking sponsorship money from the Russian state energy supplier Gazprom but could still play a role in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, its chief executive has said. Chris Roberts, the former British army officer who has led the IBA since September last year, said he was looking to diversify the sporting body’s sources of funding but that “the Gazprom thing is still there”.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) ran the boxing events at the Paris Games after withdrawing recognition from the IBA as a governing body due to governance, finance and corruption issues. The IOC has said it will not organise the boxing events at the Los Angeles Olympics, raising concerns that the sport will not feature at the 2028 Games unless a deal can be struck with an alternative organiser or a compromise can be found with the IBA.
Roberts said that his organisation remained in receipt of funding from Gazprom but that he had no doubt that boxing would feature at the next Olympics, adding that talks were already under way with IOC officials about his organisation’s status. The current president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, with whom the IBA’s leadership has repeatedly clashed, is due to stand down next year.
Roberts said: “There are some negotiations happening already. The IBA has a lot of friends in the IOC. Let’s say, ‘Bye bye’ to Thomas Bach. ‘Than you very much, go retire somewhere. Thank you.’ We continue to see a bright future. We have a really good financial package behind us.
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