The International Olympic Committee (IOC) reaffirms its strong position against the politicization of sport. This position is a Fundamental Principle of the Olympic Charter, which states:
“Recognizing that sport occurs in the context of society, sports organizations within the Olympic Movement practice political neutrality. They have the rights and obligations of autonomy, which include the free establishment and control of the rules of sport, the determination of the structure and governance of their organizations, the enjoyment of the right to elections free from any external influence, and the responsibility for ensuring that the principles of good governance applied.”
The Olympic Charter also states:
“The mission of the IOC is to promote Olympism throughout the world and to lead the Olympic Movement. The role of the IOC is: (…) to oppose any political or commercial abuse of sport and athletes”.
These principles have been repeatedly recognized and supported by several United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolutions in recent years, including the express “recognition of the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter” (A/RES/78/10 – Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic Ideal from November 2023).
These resolutions also supported the leadership role of the ILO, in particular the resolution A/RES/77/27 – Sport as an agent of sustainable development, from November 2022, which stated that the UN General Assembly “supports the independence and autonomy of sport and the mission of the International Olympic Committee to lead the Olympic movement and the International Paralympic Committee in leading the Paralympic movement”.
Most of these resolutions have been adopted by consensus by all UN member states, with the exception of the most recent one, which was adopted with abstentions only by the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic.
The IOC notes that, contrary to the Fundamental Principles of the Olympic Charter and the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly, the Russian government intends to organize purely politically motivated sporting events in Russia. The Russian government created and funded the “International Friendship Association” (IFA) to host the summer and winter “Friendship Games”.
Apparently, the first edition of the ‘Friendly Summer Games’ is scheduled to be held in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, Russia in September 2024 and the ‘Friendly Winter Games’ in Sochi, Russia in 2026.
To this end, the Russian government has launched a very intensive diplomatic offensive with government delegations and ambassadors, as well as ministerial and other government authorities, reaching out to governments around the world. To make their purely political motivation even more obvious, they deliberately bypass sports organizations in their target countries. This is a flagrant violation of the Olympic Charter and a violation of various UN resolutions at the same time.
It is a cynical attempt by the Russian Federation to politicize sports. The IOC Athletes’ Committee, which represents all the world’s Olympic athletes, clearly opposes the use of athletes for political propaganda. The Commission even sees the risk of athletes being coerced by their governments to participate in such a highly politicized sporting event, thereby being exploited as part of a political propaganda campaign.
The Russian government also shows a complete lack of respect for global anti-doping standards and the integrity of competition. This is the same government that was involved in the systemic doping program at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and, later, the manipulation of anti-doping data.
Just last week, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) expressed “its continued concerns about Russia’s plans to host the Friendship Games, an unsanctioned event, in September 2024. In particular, it is concerning that as the event will not take place under the protection of the World Anti-Doping Code (Code), the health and fairness of athletes may be compromised. WADA urges all signatories to the Code to be careful not to legitimize this fact, as the Agency cannot guarantee the anti-doping program that may or may not be in place. This position is reinforced by the fact that the Russian National Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) is not currently compliant with the Code, there is currently no WADA-accredited laboratory in Russia, and overall confidence in the anti-doping system in Russia remains low. “
For all these reasons:
- the flagrant violation of the Olympic Charter;
- the violation of the relevant UN resolutions;
- the disrespect for athletes and the integrity of sporting events;
the Olympic Movement strongly condemns any initiative to fully politicize sport, especially the establishment of fully politicized sports events by the Russian government.
The IOC strongly urges all stakeholders of the Olympic Movement and all governments to reject any participation and support in any initiative that intends to fully politicize international sport.