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≡ BOXING and LA28 ≡
The path for boxing to be confirmed into the program for the 2028 Olympic Games took an important step forward as the World Boxing federation was confirmed as a member of the Alliance of Independent Recognized Members of Sport (AIMS).
Per a notice posted Tuesday (25th) from SportAccord, the umbrella organization which oversees the checking, verification and recognition of sports federations:
“The SportAccord Executive Committee convened on 13th February to review the application of World Boxing for membership in AIMS (Alliance of Independent Recognized Members of Sport).
“Following the completion of its application, World Boxing underwent an evaluation by the SportAccord Membership Commission, which assessed its fulfillment of the required criteria. The Membership Commission subsequently presented a report to the Executive Committee with a positive recommendation.
“After reviewing the report, the Executive Committee approved the application and granted AIMS Membership to World Boxing. This decision was communicated to AIMS, which held an Extraordinary General Assembly today, where the successful admission of World Boxing as a member of the Alliance was confirmed.”
In the highly bureaucratic structure of the Olympic Movement, a new sports federation cannot be simply approved by the International Olympic Committee, but must first be reviewed in detail for appropriate governance and structural requirements and accepted as an AIMS member.
World Boxing, formed in mid-2023, has achieved that level in less than two years, which is pretty swift progress in the Olympic world. Next is recognition of the federation by the IOC, which would entitle World Boxing to join the Association of Recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF), from which a federation can be elevated to the Olympic program and join the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) or the Winter Olympic Federations (WOF), as appropriate.
This could all happen pretty quickly now for World Boxing, and if so, it would assure boxing of a place on the program for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
World Boxing continues to grow:
● It has 78 national federations at present, with at least two more in the pipeline ahead of its Extraordinary Congress on Saturday, 1 March. If both are approved, World Boxing will have 80 total national federations.
● More federations are coming, with another five federations likely to receive at least preliminary approval for membership by 8 March, in advance of the 144th IOC Session in Greece.
● The 78 federations already in represent well more than half of the boxers and countries appearing at Paris 2024. Of the 68 national federations who competed in Paris, 37 are already World Boxing members, representing 152 of the 248 boxers in the tournaments (61.3%).
Of the 32 federations who won medals in 2024, 18 are already enrolled with World Boxing, representing 30 of the 52 medalists at the Games (57.7%).
World Boxing took a census of its national federations and found they represent:
● 434,846 boxers in 15,886 gyms
● 34,328 coaches
● 8,750 referees and judges
That’s a strong case for World Boxing to take to the IOC Session in Greece from 18-21 March, where the IOC membership could formally approve World Boxing as the governing body for Olympic boxing moving forward.
If so, then the Los Angeles 2028 program would be closed, with a record total of 36 sports, the most in Olympic history.
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