International Olympic Committee omits Coe and Infantino from executive board, 10 new members added

The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday announced 10 fresh candidates for its executive board, a list that omits athletics supremo Sebastian Coe and FIFA head Gianni Infantino.

The IOC Elections Committee’s nominees to become new members of the IOC’s governing body in June include Spyros Capralos, President of the Greek Olympic Committee.

In 2012, he received a warning for his involvement in ticketing at the London 2012 Games.

“It was seven years ago,” IOC President Thomas Bach told reporters.

The commission, chaired by Princess Anne, ruled that Capralos had served his sentence and that a warning should not mean permanent exclusion.

“IOC Members are representatives of the IOC in their respective countries, where they promote Olympism and its values,” Bach said in a statement.

“These 10 new members proposed to the IOC Session have different backgrounds, but they all have a great passion for and knowledge of the Olympic and sports movement, which will help their mission and will be beneficial for the entire Olympic Movement.”

The IOC said that neither Coe, of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), nor Infantino were considered because it did not wish to interfere in the presidential elections in those two bodies. At FIFA, however, Infantino is the only candidate and will be re-elected unopposed on June 5.

The IOC has always prefered to have the major sports federations.

However, Infantino’s predecessor at FIFA, Sepp Blatter, and Coe’s at the IAAF, Lamine Diack, were IOC members but both still face legal problems for suspicions of corruption.

For Coe, a former Olympic champion, British Member of Parliament and head of the 2012 London Olympics, there is also a potential conflict of interest.

The Englishman continues to hold the position of President of a sports marketing company, which makes it difficult for him to join the IOC.

Among the other future IOC members are the Algerian Mustapha Berraf, President of the Algerian Olympic Committee and the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa.

The remaining candidates are Odette Assembe Engoulou of Cameroon, Laura Chinchilla from Costa Rica, Matlohang Moiloa-Ramoqopo of Lesotho, Filomena Fortes of Cape Verde, Tidjane Thiam from Ivory Coast, Erick Thohir of Indonesia, Narinder Dhruv Batra, President of the Indian Olympic Association and Kee Heung Lee, President of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee.