AGENDA 2020: The President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, has unveiled his vision for the future telling IOC members now is the time to change.
At the opening of the 127th Session of the IOC in Monaco, Bach said the IOC is successful and financially stable, investing $3m a day into sport around the globe, “we are successful, success is the best reason to change," he said.
The change starts tomorrow when the IOC members vote to accept 40 recommendations contained in Agenda 2020 which is designed to reform the Olympic Movement.
“If we do not address these challenges here and now we will be hit by them very soon. If we do not drive these changes ourselves others will drive us to them. We want to be the leaders of change in sport not the object. To change or to be changed, that is the question”.
Bach has vowed to do more to stamp out doping telling the members the IOC must invest more money in beating the cheats.
“The Olympic Movement is all about the clean athletes. They are our best ambassadors, they are our role-models, they are our treasure. Therefore we have first and foremost to protect the clean athletes. We have to protect them from doping, match-fixing, manipulation and corruption."
He spoke of his desire to get more children playing sport instead of sitting on the couch.
“As a sports organisation we cannot be satisfied only with increasing numbers of young people watching the Olympic Games. We have an interest and a responsibility to get the couch potatoes off the couch. Only children playing sport can be future athletes. Only children playing sport can enjoy the educational and health values of sport.
“The Olympic Agenda 2020 is like a jig-saw puzzle. Every piece, every recommendation, has the same importance. Only when you put all these 40 pieces together you see the whole picture. You see progress in ensuring the success of the Olympic Games, progress in safeguarding the Olympic Values and progress in strengthening sport in society."
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Mike Tancred at the IOC Session
AOC
