The International Olympic Committee issued a warning on Tuesday that it could stop working with Afghanistan ahead of the next Olympics in 2024 if women are not allowed to play sports under Taliban rule. This warning pertains to women’s sports and the Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee has warned that it could stop working with Afghanistan ahead of the next Olympics in 2024 if women are not allowed to play sports under Taliban rule.
The International Olympic Committee stated that its support for the National Olympic Committee of Afghanistan would be contingent on certain conditions, such as allowing women to participate in sports administration and play sports with “safe and inclusive access.” Female athletes from Afghanistan must be on the teams competing in international competitions, not just those from abroad.
The IOC board said it “communicated its serious concern and unequivocally censured the most recent limitations forced by the Afghan experts on ladies and young girls in Afghanistan, which keep them from rehearsing sport in the country.”
The IOC stated that Afghanistan’s participation in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024 and “the representation, or not, of the country” “will depend on the progress made in relation to the fundamental issue of safe access to sport for women and young girls in the country.”
The IOC’s potential timetable for putting the measures into effect was not immediately clear.
The IOC stated that it would continue to provide individual athletes from Afghanistan who intend to compete at the Olympics with direct support.
At the most recent Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Afghanistan fielded a team of four men and one woman.
On Monday, Human Rights Watch demanded that the IOC immediately prohibit Afghanistan from participating in sporting events and halt its funding. In 1999, during the previous period of Taliban rule, the IOC suspended the Afghanistan NOC.
A long-running dispute between the IOC and the International Boxing Association continued Tuesday at the IOC executive board meeting as well. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that the boxing body had not achieved the “drastic change of culture” it had requested.
The IOC has long criticized the IBA’s management, finances, and history of disagreements regarding Olympic fight refereeing and judging.
In 2019, the IOC removed the IBA, which was formerly known as the AIBA, from the running of the boxing competition at the Tokyo Olympics and barred its officials from doing so. In 2024, the IOC intends to host boxing qualifying competitions without the IBA in Paris.
The dispute prevents boxing from being included in the 2028 Olympic program in Los Angeles; however, the sport may be added at a later time, either with or without the IBA in charge.