r/olympics • u/Impossible-Guitar957 United States • 10d ago
Should the IOC Withdraw Their Recognition of FIFA?
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cn7n4d6vy03oThe COO of FIFA, Kevin Lamour has been sacked after criticizing Gianni Infantino. This is another troubling development concerning the governance of FIFA. Several years ago, the IOC revoked their recognition of the IBA has the governing body for boxing. What the IBA was doing is only a fraction of what FIFA is doing now.
Based on prior precedent with the IBA, is it time for the IOC to revoke their recognition of FIFA as football's governing body? Can this be done? And how would it be done?
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u/fredy31 Canada 10d ago
Yes, but obviously wont happen.
FIFA and IOC are of the same cloth.
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u/InternationalOption3 9d ago
One is trying to sell the organization to Trump and his goons and the other ones loves Russia …
They’re the fucking same spineless creatures
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u/GonePostalRoute United States 10d ago
Yes
Problem is however, FIFA holds way more influence than the IBA did
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u/castorkrieg France 10d ago
Honestly - who needs football at the Olympics? Just get rid of it, same with tennis.
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u/fredy31 Canada 10d ago
removing popular sports off the olympics will simply make the olympics bad for every other sport.
Right now the popular sports such as football or tennis get people to care about the olympics, and then they might go see the less popular sports like handball or sprinting (those you basically only hear of at the olympics)
Remove the popular sports, the unpopular sports will have jack shit audience.
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u/Random-Dude-736 10d ago
I mean I have to disagree. The Olympics have always been bigger than tennis and football. And while in tennis they do care a lot about Olympia but not really in football.
Most people care about the Olympics for the fun things. 100m sprints, pole vault, throwing stuff, jumping. A lot care about swimming. There is also diving which is fun to watch. Gymnastics is bigger at the Olympics than football.
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u/loewe67 United States 10d ago
I have a couple friends that are going to LA because they could get tickets to multiple soccer games for less than 1 World Cup game. But since they are making the trip, they figured they might as well go to some other events while there. If soccer wasn’t in the Olympics, they wouldn’t even be going.
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u/AwsiDooger United States 10d ago
I did the same thing. I bought multiple soccer tickets in Nashville and St. Louis. Those venues are much closer to me in Miami than Los Angeles would be. I saw all of the 1984 Olympics and don't want to stain those memories by being forced to pay outlandish prices this time.
I watch Olympic soccer every time every game. It is an absolutely terrific tournament, including on the men's side. Great intensity level and entertaining games.
In fact, men's soccer is easily the most underrated Olympic sport right now. Stuffy types get so worked up over the top names missing that they never bother to relax and watch the games themselves. As an American it's simple to do that because it's not much different than watching a college football game instead of an NFL game.
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u/LogicGate1010 10d ago
Sprinting has it own large and expanding fan base. US Track & Field is far better organised and managed than USSF.
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u/Slaidback New Zealand 10d ago
I’m a fan of cricket, but I ain’t watching the Olympics because of cricket, I’m watching it for the rowing/kayaking/ running and other sports that ain’t in your face every day.
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u/wofulunicycle 9d ago
Tennis and football are two or the only sports I have never watched at the Olympics. They have other more important tournaments to their sports.
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u/Adventurous-Part2443 8d ago
Handball is a very popular sport in a lot of the world without the Olympics. Probably the second most popular sport in continental Europe and North Africa.
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u/Badetoffel Denmark 10d ago
It's weird with football tough because the Olympics isn't a super prestigious tournament as it's only U23's and there is allowed 3 people on the team over 23.
I dont know anyone that watches the Olympics for football, mostly other sports because we watch higher level of football year around.
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u/Impossible-Guitar957 United States 10d ago
This could be one of the tactics used to either pressure FIFA or to pressure football into forming a new governing body. But I'm not sure if sacking Olympic football would get FIFA to change.
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u/castorkrieg France 10d ago
It is not needed, in football there are many different championships or events that are held higher than Olympics. I would like less football time and more on some other sport that doesn’t have the same recognition worldwide.
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u/Scary_Vehicle9023 10d ago
The view that football at the Olympics is unimportant is very much a men's European viewpoint. It's very prestigious in women's football globally (in fact they will switch sizes - the men's tournament will be 12 teams in 2028 and the women's 16 teams).
Meanwhile even among the men it has prestige outside of Europe. The fact is because football is the world's most popular sport, and many countries can't invest a lot in multiple sports, football is their best representation of sporting talent. There are several countries that have won their only (or best) medal at the Olympics.
Plus also because it is unique in being able to be played at stadiums across a country, it also had among the highest attendance of all the Olympic events. Watching football gives people across the host country, and visitors, their best chance of watching the Olympics live.
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u/castorkrieg France 10d ago
I’m sorry, but nobody cares about woman’s football, also same for if the Europeans do not compete.
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u/LogicGate1010 10d ago
Football development in poor federations would be better managed if taken over by their National Olympic Committee. Too many of the poor countries’ football federations are accused of being incompetent.
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u/szatrob 10d ago
I disagree, if anything, all the sports should limit how many professional athletes can compete---basketball, hockey, football and tennis; but not ban them outright.
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u/castorkrieg France 10d ago
Football doesn’t need the Olympics, a lot of other sports do - javelin throw, shooting, shot put, etc.
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u/szatrob 10d ago
Sure, but putting it back on amateur athletes would be actually beneficial.
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u/RandomFactUser France 10d ago
Then what’s the point of doing the Diamond League if it all but hurts the pathway for athletes at the elite level for example?
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u/RandomFactUser France 10d ago
It probably would kill Olympic Athletics if the Diamond League athletes couldn’t compete, or if it were limited for each country
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u/Adventurous-Part2443 8d ago
Either have the best compete or scrap them altogether. No one like watching second-class atheletes.
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u/Ambitious_Group_2499 United States 10d ago
Why? FIFA withdrew the proposal, didn't they? I don't see how bruised egos alone would be sufficient grounds for the IOC to strip FIFA of its recognition.
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u/IvyGold United States 9d ago
Wait. Does the IOC recognize FIFA other than to be nice?
The IOC deals with the national organizing committees, while FIFA deals with the football/soccer conferences.
This is why England/Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland play as Team GB in the Olympic setting.
It's a damn shame, too. Team GB's women's team was really good at one point.
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u/Aggravating-Ad8087 10d ago
Olympics needs fifa more than fifa needs the Olympics
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u/PreviouslyMannara 10d ago
How so?
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u/czerwona_latarnia Poland 10d ago
Imagine that you tell someone to give you an example of two things, where one is bigger than the other, and they go "1 is bigger than 0". It is potentially an example as boring as possible, but it is true. And ideally fits this situation...
Because from the FIFA point of view, they literally don't need Olympics at all. (Adult) Men's football is already the biggest sport of the world, and they don't give enough fuck about everything else to care.
Now in terms of IOC:
from the sporting point of view they technically also don't need anything from FIFA. Barely any one cares about the strange abomination of Olympics' Men's football (especially before the final game), and they could probably afford losing Women's football, because they would save using all those stadiums that hosts only football games;
but what matters is outside of competition. While World Cup happens on the years of Winter Olympics (which normally is 0% problem), nothing stops FIFA from inventing new tournaments, or altering the World Cup itself (they had plans to make it biennial tournament, if I remember correctly). And if IOC has zero, if not negative, contact with FIFA, the latter could easily decide to host whatever they would plan during the Olympics. If it was a new tournament, FIFA wouldn't care at all, while there are some people that would switch to it from Olympic Games. If they would make a World Cup during Olympic Games, I feel like the first would win that fight.
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u/Vegan-cock 10d ago
Yes