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Sheikh Ahmad confirmed as new chairman of Olympic Solidarity Back To Main

Friday, 08 June 2012

June 8 - Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah has been officially confirmed as the new chairman of the Olympic Solidarity Commission.

The Kuwaiti replaces Mario Vázquez Raña, who had been in charge of the programme since it was set-up in 1981.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) programme distributes nearly $400 million (£230 million/€310 million) of income raised from television rights to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) around the world, mostly in countries that need it most.

Sheikh Ahmad's elevation as head of the 15-person Commission follows him taking over from Vázquez Raña as President of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) after a bitter power struggle. 

Sheikh Ahmad, the 48-year-old former head of OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), has promised to make ANOC a more transparent organisation.

"We have much work to do," he told

insidethegames

"My election in Moscow [in April] was only the beginning."

Among Sheikh Ahmad's early priorities are finding a new headquarters for ANOC in Lausanne and establishing stronger relationships with the international federations.

"There are lots of changes that are needed in the constitution," he said.

"Lots of articles that need to be changed.

"We have to work under the Olympic Charter and ensure better cooperation."

Contact the writer of this story at duncan.mackay@insidethegames.biz

Source: http://www.insidethegames.biz/