LawAccord stepped up to present its first full-day session with a near-capacity audience, a high-calibre collection of expert speakers and a ringing endorsement from SportAccord Acting-President Francesco Ricci Bitti.

The SportAccord Daily reports:

Ricci Bitti congratulated LawAccord on its expansion and paid tribute to an initiative that “has been a pioneer in the SportAccord organisation.”

He added: “We are in difficult times. On the positive side sport is more relevant in society than in the past, but the negative side is that it’s more complex and that means we need more lawyers. Legal expertise is one of the skills that has been handed to all sports organisations to solve a variety of problems on the professional side and in the grassroots. The people working in law are important partners in sport today.”

The agenda addressed a variety of the legal issues affecting sport in a range of formats, with doping, match-fixing and rival leagues among the topics tackled.

First up was Malcolm Speed AO, former CEO of the International Cricket Council and Cricket Australia, with a Keynote Address on whether great governance is possible.

He said that great governance should be illustrated by a “thriving organisation where the board adds value to the sport”. Speed added: “We have very critical and demanding constituencies. Good governance has made a positive difference, but the time has come for us to move to the next level and achieve great governance.”

Governance was just one of the issues highlighted by Matthieu Reeb, Secretary General of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Reeb provided an update on recent developments, concluding with the Caster Semenya case, which he described as “difficult, not only because it is beyond the law”. He added: “We have different opinions expressed; legal opinions, scientific opinions. It may not be the end of the story, because there is still the possibility of appeal.”

Most of the cases listed by Reeb involve doping, which was addressed in more detail by Brent Nowicki, Managing Council and Head of the Anti-Doping Division at CAS.

Nowicki explained how the division had evolved from a service at the 2016 Olympics which he admitted was “not very efficient” to an improved system at the 2018 Winter Olympics and now a permanent part of CAS. He said the goal is to provide a service which is “time-sensitive and cost-sensitive”, and above all independent.

He said: “It must physically be independent and we pride ourselves on being that independent authority so that decisions are made by individuals not appointed by the IFs, not paid by the IFs and not associated with the IFs in any respect.”

World Anti-Doping Agency President Sir Craig Reedie then offered his latest opinion on the most high-profile doping episode of recent years. He insisted that the situation in Russia has “moved on a long way”.

He added: “We should stick with that, get it finished and move on.”

Catherine Ordway, Assistant Professor and Course Convenor in Sports Management at the University of Canberra and a Senior Consultant in Sports Law at Snedden Hall & Gallop Lawyers, was joined by Iain Roy, Managing Director of Royglo Pty and Founding Head of Integrity at Cricket Australia, in a one-on-one discussion about match-fixing. They described the “gamblification” by certain organisations that circumvent regulations by streaming events to overseas territories and enabling betting markets on low-level competitions.

Matthew Mitten, Professor of Law and Executive Director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University Law School, also discussed the issue of rival leagues and competitions. He said EU law provides no immunity for IFs that act in ways that could be considered to be anti-competitive for the economic interests of athletes.

However, he added that IFs would be acting lawfully if they were to pursue legitimate objectives, such as countering activity from a rival league by launching a new competition.

As the world becomes more digital, as customers’ expectations rise and Spanish football grows in popularity, there is an increasing need for LaLiga clubs to offer more than a piece of paper and a seat when it comes to tickets.

The General Assembly of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) convened today at SportAccord in Gold Coast, Queensland (Australia), and elected Marisol Casado (International Triathlon Union), Ingmar De Vos (International Equestrian Federation) and Morinari Watanabe (International Gymnastics Federation) as Council members for a four-year term of office.

Casado (in photo) was re-elected for another term of office.

De Vos and Watanabe will replace José Perurena (International Canoe Federation), whose mandate had also come to an end, and former FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann who passed away last autumn. During a moment of silence, the General Assembly remembered Patrick Baumann and his outstanding contributions to sport and the Olympic Movement.

Marisol Casado was elected President of the ITU in 2008 and became an IOC Member in 2010. She is also a Council member of GAISF.

Ingmar De Vos was elected President of the FEI in 2014. An IOC Member since 2017, he is also a GAISF Council member and GAISF representative on the WADA Executive Committee.

Morinari Watanabe was elected President of the FIG in 2016. An IOC Member since 2018, he is also a member of the Tokyo 2020 Executive Board.

The future of global sport and the role of International Federations (IFs) were key topics on the agenda of the General Assembly.

ASOIF’s report on the “Future of Global Sport”, launched in February this year, received very positive reactions during the meeting. A number of member federations stated that the report recommendations had gained momentum within their organisations and will be discussed at their upcoming Executive Board meetings.

ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “The future of global sport, the role of IFs and their governance are all intertwined. By examining these three aspects at the same time, we aim to strengthen our member federations and help them tackle current and future challenges in a fast-evolving world. I am very glad to hear they have started to make use of the report findings in their daily work and implement some of the recommendations.”

On the topic of IF govenance,  ASOIF members agreed on the procedure of the third governance review, to be conducted between late 2019 and early 2020, with the declared objective to see at least 26 of the 28 full ASOIF members score 120 points (out of a maximum of 200 points). In order to support this process, the ASOIF Governance Support and Monitoring Unit (GSMU), established in late 2018, will continue to help IFs achieve progress in good governance.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Organising Committee shared their plan for their one-year-to-go celebrations on 24 July this year and reported that they had released lately their competition schedule (session by session) to the general public.

The recent launch of the ticketing sales website was hailed a success as well, with already more than two million ID registrations clocked by 31 March 2019. Tokyo 2020 also promised to collaborate closely with the IFs regarding the upcoming test events which will be important to fine-tune operations for Games time.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games Organising Committee presented their new Event Delivery Model to leverage IF expertise for an optimal and cost-efficient Games delivery. They have already started to work closely with the ASOIF Olympic and Multi-Sports Games Consultative Group (AOMSG) and the IOC Sports Department and will also closely consult with each IF on their expectations for the Games’ delivery throughout the preparations.

During the report from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), ASOIF member federations were informed about the preparations for the Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games, strengthening the solidarity funding model for athletes, and the IOC’s Gender Equality Project. Based on the recommendations from the project, ASOIF has proposed to establish a new advisory group which will specifically focus on the topics of gender equality and diversity.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) updated the General Assembly about the latest status of the investigations related to Russia, ongoing governance reforms within the organisation as well as WADA’s work on a strong Compliance Monitoring Program and the 2021 Code and International Standards framework.

The General Assembly also approved the Olympic revenue distribution model for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The SportAccord Daily features an interview with Amina Lanaya, the first women to hold the position of Director General of the International Cycling Union (UCI).

Here is what she has to say about the governing body’s focus on women’s cycling.

“The last year has been one of significant progress. The UCI’s Agenda 2022 – a roadmap for our Federation for 2019-22 – sets out a series of measures for women’s cycling and, more generally, for women’s place in the sport. I am thrilled that we have already implemented some major initiatives which will make a real difference in this domain.”

“The first I would mention is the adoption of a minimum salary for riders in UCI Women’s WorldTeams, the first division of women’s professional road teams which will be introduced in 2020. Men can already earn a living from riding, and our aim is to ensure that this is also the case for women. Establishing a minimum salary is a major step forward and will be accompanied by a series of other measures, such as better social security, to enable women to pursue their profession in better conditions.”

The UCI is introducing a new Junior Women category in cyclocross to develop the sport among young riders and encourage 17 to 18-year-olds at international level.

“In the same discipline we are pleased to have introduced equal prize money for men and women in the overall classifications (paid by the UCI) of the Telenet UCI Cyclo-Cross World Cup. This will be matched by equal prize money for each individual round of the UCI World Cup (paid by organisers) by 2022.”

“We have drawn up a Charter to promote gender equality in cycling. One of the first measures adopted is a policy of gender equity within the UCI administration, which will become an integral part of the staff rules. The objective is to guarantee equal, respectful and fair treatment for all, particularly regarding recruitment and salaries.”

“The UCI also wishes to see more women represented on its executive bodies and those of Continental Confederations and National Federations. We have started a revision of our Constitution in this sense, which will be submitted for approval by the voting delegates at our 2019 Congress.”

“The UCI is taking steps to obtain EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) certification in 2020. This is a reference standard to evaluate the commitment of companies and organisations to professional gender equality. Obviously, as the UCI’s first woman Director General, this is something close to my heart!”

IOC President Thomas Bach believes an alternative organization could run the boxing competition at next year’s Tokyo Olympics if recognition is withdrawn from the sport’s amateur governing body AIBA.

The participation of boxers at next year’s Summer Games was cast into doubt last November after the IOC launched an inquiry into financial and governance issues at AIBA, which has been in turmoil for years.

Reuters reports:

“We want to have boxing as an Olympic sport and we want to have a boxing competition at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020,” International Olympic Committee President (IOC) Bach told the Australian Olympic Committee annual general meeting on Saturday.

“The question we are confronted with is, who will organize it? Will it be AIBA or will we have to find a different way?

“This depends on the results of an ongoing inquiry we have into AIBA which is looking at governance, finance, judging and refereeing — it is very, very serious.”

Bach expected the IOC inquiry to make its recommendations at an executive board meeting in Lausanne on May 22.

Boxing Australia Director Johan Linde, who quizzed Bach on the issue, told Reuters he thought it would be extremely difficult to organize the competition, especially qualification, in the 14 months before the Tokyo Games open.

Bach, though, was sanguine about the prospect.

“We want to do this because boxing is important Olympic sport, it is a universal sport, so we want to have boxing on the program,” he said.

“If the cases arises we would have to make an effort to have it and to have the qualification process.

“Organizing a sports event is not rocket science so I guess we will be able to manage it.”

Bach was also questioned about the imbalance between the three women’s boxing events at the last two Olympics and the 10 gold medals up for grabs for the men.

“At a time when we still on speaking terms with AIBA, we had more or less agreed that we will have gender equality in the Olympic competition in Tokyo,” he said.

“You can be assured that whoever organizes the Olympic competition, we will insist on this principle of gender equality for boxing.”

Introduced by the President of the AOC and IOC Member John Coates, President Bach praised Coates, who is also chair of the Tokyo 2020 Coordination Commission. He added, “I cannot remember any Organising Committee being this advanced at this stage of the preparation for the Olympic Games.”

The Arena Football League (AFL) and ESPN have announced a media rights agreement for all of the AFL’s 2019 regular-season games. Effective immediately, all regular-season games will be available on streaming service ESPN3 and the ESPN App. In addition, ArenaBowl XXXII will be televised on ESPN2.

The AFL season kicked off on April 26 and coverage began on ESPN3 started on May 3.

AFL games can be accessed through ESPN3 on computer, smartphones, tablets and other connected devices through the ESPN App. The network is currently available across the U.S. at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider.

Scott Guglielmino, Senior Vice President, Programming and Acquisitions, ESPN, said: “We are delighted to be the national media home for Arena Football League – the leading professional indoor football league in the country. The AFL complements our commitment to serve fans with the best available football action year-round.”

AFL Commissioner Randall Boe said: “We are pleased for the AFL, its players, coaches and fans, to be able to announce that all of our games will be broadcast on ESPN. We are pleased and proud to be working with ESPN and think they will be a great partner to help us grow the AFL.”

The Arena Football League (AFL) ha entered its 32nd season in 2019.

With the addition of two new teams in Atlantic City, N.J., and Columbus, Ohio, the league totals six teams, all of which will play 12 regular-season games in 2019. Other cities are Albany, Atlantic City, Columbus, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.