(DEC 1) The International Boxing Association has taken note of the announcement of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) this evening and are pleased that the IOC Executive Board has acknowledged AIBA’s progress.

In line with its New Foundation Plan, AIBA has made great strides forward in a short period of time, which has resulted in many positive outcomes being achieved including the implementation of good governance systems (resulting in the advancement of AIBA in the Governance Assessment by the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations to a position in the top half of all summer IFs), anti-doping compliancy (resulting in AIBA being WADA compliant and collaborating with the ITA for all in & out of competition testing), financial turn-around (resulting in a positive cash-flow and stable finances) and implementation of a new refereeing & judging systems (resulting in a new transparent R&J systems implemented in the last two major events – Youth Olympic Games and AIBA Women’s World Championships).

AIBA also welcomes the opportunity to work with the ad-hoc Inquiry Committee, chaired by Mr Nenad Lalovic, in order to clarify any further concerns that the IOC may have. Given Mr Lalovic’s experience within international sport and his personal experience with governance reforms of an international sport organisation, it is certain that his expertise will be invaluable.

Gafur Rahimov, AIBA President, stated: “I would like to thank the IOC Executive Board for their comprehensive work and assure them that AIBA is committed to improving in any area where they have concerns. Throughout this entire process AIBA has remained committed to the Olympic Movement and the Olympic values.

In terms of my own situation, I can assure the IOC that the situation with US authorities based on false allegations by the previous regime of my country is being addressed and that my legal team is working hard to correct this.

Furthermore, in terms of the concern with regards to AIBA’s financial situation, I must admit that I too was worried about our finances at the beginning of this year. However, I can assure our Olympic friends that after making significant cuts to our spending, securing new sponsors, securing trusted host cities for our major events and negotiating with our past partners, I am very proud to say that AIBA has achieved financial stability. I look forward to sharing all that information with my colleague Mr. Lalovic and his committee and to address these areas and any further questions that they might have so that we can get back to full scale preparations for Tokyo 2020.”