Thailand Seeks Opportunity to Host Youth Olympics

(ATR) – Thailand sports officials did not hide their hope that the Sportaccord Convention to be held in Bangkok in less than two weeks will help their aspiration to organize a Youth Olympic Games.

"The moment will be special. Sportaccord Convention is the umbrella organization for all international sports federations as well as organizers of multi-sports games and sport-related international associations where more than 1,500 participants are expected, headed by the IOC President, Thomas Bach," IOC member Patama Leeswadtrakul said on Tuesday.

Bach will meet Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon at Government House. Prawit is also president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand.

Leeswadtrakul, as a member of the organizing committee for SportAccord 2018, said hosting the event would showcase the country's ability to stage major international events and will help Thailand gain support for its bid to host the Summer Youth Olympic Games.

A possible bid wouldn't happen until the 2026 version as the IOC has publicly stated that it wants the IV Youth Olympic Games in 2022 to be hosted by an African nation. The host is set to be determined at the 133rd IOC Session in Buenos Aires just before the beginning of the third edition.

IWGA General Assembly Meets in Bangkok

Sportaccord Convention, which runs from April 15 to 20, will include the General Assembly of the International World Games Association (IWGA).

On the agenda is determining the sports program for the 2021 edition in Birmingham, Alabama.

The decision will be made on April 16, and it is still unknown if there will be 28 or 30 competing sports for the 11th World Games in the U.S. city. There are still two sports that are bidding to enter, hence the uncertainty.

"The Federation that does not assure its best exponents will be out," José Perurena, president of IWGA, confirms to Around The Rings.

Where there seems to be no doubt is in the election landscape.

The next meeting will also elect a new executive but so far Perurena is still the only candidate for the position he was elected to in April 2014.

Bach could be present for Perurena's re-election. They met two weeks ago, with Perurena updating the IOC President on the upcoming World Games, which have been converted into a showcase for disciplines that yearn to enter the Olympic Program.

Under the prism of Agenda 2020 Agenda, the IOC approved sports such as skateboarding, sports climbing and surfing for Tokyo 2020, so more new sports could be presented in the Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 programs.

Although the 28 sports of the Rio 2016 program will be maintained for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, the French organizers will also have the right to propose additional events and sports. Five additional sports have been approved for Tokyo.

The Los Angeles program will be defined in 2021 after the World Games in Birmingham are held.

"We have invited the Organizing Committee of Los Angeles to our Games so they can focus on sports that could be interesting for them in 2028," said Perurena.

The Spanish leader denied that a discipline on the rise such as Mixed Martial Arts, which has the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) of the United States as its main promoter, is being analyzed to enter IWGA.

"I have not even known that they showed interest," Perurena said, adding that the IWGA already has several disciplines of combat and martial arts.

While the International Olympic Committee grants its patronage to all editions of The World Games, and while the IWGA explicitly accepts and adheres to all principles in the Olympic Charter, the multi-sport games differ in one important aspect from the Olympics.

The host is never required to build facilities or extend upon available infrastructure for the sake of The World Games alone.

Ideally, the event is to be staged at existing venues, in appropriately sized facilities that have been planned or built regardless of the candidate host bidding for the event.

This condition influences the composition of The World Games program.

Not all sports feature necessarily in every edition. Existing infrastructure and venues in and around the host city are the determining factor in the selection of sports to the Official Sports Program.

Perurena revealed to ATR that in Birmingham in 2021 there is the possibility of several Paralympic modalities being added to the program.

Reported by Miguel Hernandez.