World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe, multi-millionaire and Olympic newcomer Johan Eliasch, and Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry are among the seven candidates for next year’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency election, according to the IOC.
Also vying for the position are IOC Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch, son of the late former IOC president; international cycling chief David Lappartient; Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan; and international gymnastics federation head Morinari Watanabe. They are all in contention to succeed current IOC president Thomas Bach.
The 70-year-old German is stepping down next year after 12 years at the helm. The election will be held at the IOC session in ancient Olympia, Greece in March 2025.
The candidates will all present their programmes, behind closed doors, to the full IOC membership in January 2025.
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The IOC, with 111 members currently, is in charge of the Olympic Games and the multi-billion dollar industry linked to the world’s biggest multi-sports event.
Below is the penpix of candidates to succeed Bach as IOC President
PRINCE FEISAL AL HUSSEIN:
Age: 60
Country: Jordan
Entry into the IOC: 2010
Prince Feisal heads the Jordan Olympic Committee and has been an IOC executive board member since 2019. An Executive Board member of the Olympic Council of Asia, Prince Feisal has also held several posts at the Royal Jordanian Air Force.
SEBASTIAN COE:
Age: 67
Country: Britain
Entry into the IOC: 2020
An Olympic track and field champion and head of World Athletics, Coe also led the organisation for the 2012 London Olympics. A former Conservative Member of Parliament, Coe is also involved in sports consultancy and is a former head of the British Olympic Association.
KIRSTY COVENTRY:
Age: 41
Country: Zimbabwe
Entry into the IOC: 2013
An Olympic swimming champion and Zimbabwe’s most successful Olympian, Coventry is Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister. She is the only woman among the candidates and the only one from Africa.
JOHAN ELIASCH:
Age: 62
Country: Britain
Entry into the IOC: 2024
The wealthy Swedish-born entrepreneur with a variety of business interests has headed the international skiing federation since 2021. He only joined the IOC in July at its session in the Paris Olympics.
DAVID LAPPARTIENT:
Age: 51
Country: France
Entry into the IOC: 2022
A rising figure in world sports administration. He heads the international cycling body, UCI, and is in charge of esports within the IOC, having helped seal a 12-year deal with Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the Olympic esports Games.
Manchester City is used to winning on the soccer pitch but it may have come up against his toughest opponent yet off it.
JUAN ANTONIO SAMARANCH:
Age: 64
Country: Spain
Entry into the IOC: 2001
The son of the late former IOC president, Samaranch has considerable IOC experience and influence in his six years as vice president and 23 as a member. He headed the coordination commission for theBeijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
MORINARI WATANABE:
Age: 65
Country: Japan
Entry into the IOC: 2018
Watanabe has headed the gymnastics federation (FIG) since 2016, having been re-elected twice since. He is the first Japanese candidate to run for the IOC presidency.
NPFL: Babaganaru warns Akwa United goal-shy attackers
Akwa United head coach Muhammed Babaganaru has emphasized that his goal-shy attackers must capitalize on their opportunities to ensure the Promise Keepers start the season strongly, in contrast to their inconsistent performance last season.
Ezekiel Edidiong’s late penalty salvaged a draw for the Promise Keepers, and while Babaganaru praised his team’s performance, he expressed dissatisfaction with their inefficiency in front of goal.
“Generally it was a bad outing for us, it’s a result that we didn’t expect and I’m very disappointed,” Babaganaru told the club’s official website. “From my assessment, my players played very well and we dominated throughout but we couldn’t convert the many chances we created.
“Abia Warriors got their goal very early into the game and they defended very well and we tried to push for the equalizer but it wasn’t to be until the last minute of the game that we won that penalty in which Edidiong scored.
“This is the beginning of the season and we have to hit the ground running by winning games. We have two points from a possible six and we don’t have to wait any longer, we need to ensure we work on our scoring abilities and also redouble our effort in subsequent games as we hope for a better season ahead,” he added.
Akwa United will not participate in the NPFL Matchday Three games this weekend as their opponents, Enyimba, are engaged in the reverse fixture of the CAF Confederation Cup second preliminary round against Etoile Filante du Ouagadougou. The match will now take place on Wednesday, October 2nd, in Uyo.