IBA President warns Olympic movement will fade unless IOC rewards athletes and reforms now
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 12 Jun 2026
Lausanne, Switzerland — The International Boxing Association (IBA) President has renewed its call for urgent reform of the Olympic model, warning that the Olympic movement risks long-term decline if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) continues to commercialize athletes while refusing to reward them directly.
IBA President Umar Kremlev said recent comments from IOC President Kirsty Coventry again expose the gap between the IOC’s public language about athlete-centered sport and the reality of how Olympic revenue is distributed.
Coventry recently said she does not believe in paying athletes at the Olympic Games, later clarifying that she was referring to Olympic prize money. For Kremlev, that clarification only confirms the core problem.
“IBA has been saying the logical and correct thing for years: athletes must be rewarded,” Kremlev said. “The Games exist because of athletes. They create the spectacle, bring the audience, carry the pressure and generate the commercial value. But when time to share that value comes, the IOC says someone else should be responsible. That is not solidarity. That is exploitation.”
Kremlev said Olympic athletes are no longer competing in an amateur environment. They train professionally, live under professional pressure and power a global commercial product. Yet many are still treated financially as if the old amateur model still exists.
“The only thing amateur about the Olympic system today is the way athletes are paid,” Kremlev said. “Athletes should be able to provide for their families. That is not controversial. It is basic fairness.”
IBA also stressed that National Olympic Committees and governments should not be left to carry the full burden. Countries invest for years in identifying, developing and supporting athletes. The IOC then monetizes those athletes on the world stage while avoiding direct responsibility for rewarding them.
“NOCs and states raise the champions,” Kremlev said. “The IOC monetizes them every four years. It cannot keep the prestige and revenue at the top while pushing responsibility down to everyone else.”
IBA has already introduced prize money across its events and structured rewards for Olympic boxing medallists and quarter-finalists. Kremlev said this model proves that direct athlete compensation strengthens sport rather than weakens it.
“Rewarding athletes is a concrete, logical reform,” Kremlev said. “It gives athletes dignity, gives families security and creates a more transparent system. IBA will continue to be a financial shield for boxers. Everything we earn is reinvested into athletes, coaches and National Federations.”
Kremlev warned that without drastic reform, the Olympic movement will not collapse overnight, but will steadily lose trust, audience, sponsors and relevance.
“The athletes are not decorations for the Olympic movement,” he said. “They are the movement. Without them, there are no Games, no sponsors, no broadcast value and no future. The IOC must reform now, or the Olympic movement will fade.”
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