In a statement on Thursday, Panamerican Sports announced that each NOC must recognize and affiliate its own federation under the jurisdiction of World Boxing in order to participate in the Lima Games, with the final decision scheduled for 30 June 2025.
The American sports entity could make a crucial decision for the future of boxing next year. For now, it has sent a letter to all of the organization's member NOCs informing them of its intention to include boxing in the upcoming Pan American Games in Lima in 2027, and outlining the requirements that must be met for athletes to participate should the sport ultimately be included in the programme.
This initiative is in line with the guidelines of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and World Boxing, as stated in a 'communiqué' on 18 December underlining the essential condition for each national federation, through its NOC, to belong to the global boxing body's structure.
Panam Sports confirmed that a roadmap has been drawn up for the possible provisional recognition of World Boxing at the IOC session in Greece in March 2025. It should be noted that the IOC had already proposed this timetable at the beginning of 2025 in order to make a final decision on the future of boxing in the Olympic programme. The lack of an IOC-recognized governing body following the expulsion of the International Boxing Association (IBA) has created significant uncertainty.
Through its statement, Panam Sports urged all NOCs to review the IOC's circular letter sent on 30 September 2024, which highlighted the difficulties that federations affiliated with the IBA could face in participating in the Olympic Games. However, the IBA considered the letter to be an "interference" in the independence of the federations and accused the IOC of exerting undue pressure. In response, the IBA issued a message of unity and reassurance to its member federations.
The division within boxing is stark, and a resolution seems increasingly uncertain. In the same 'communiqué', Panamanian Sports revealed that, according to World Boxing's records, 17 countries in the Americas currently have recognized federations. However, this is not enough for the sport to be included in the programme for the next Pan American Games. As a result, a decision on the inclusion of boxing will have to wait until the 30 June deadline.
Nevertheless, Panam Sports is maintaining a clear stance, encouraging the NOCs to take a proactive approach to affiliating their national boxing federations. In its final request, it asked them to inform the organization "as soon as possible about the status of affiliation and recognition of their National Boxing Federation by their NOC, specifying whether it is recognized by World Boxing or not".
|
