LAGOS – Larry Probst, Chairman, United States Olympic Committee (USOC), on Tuesday suggested that members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) be stripped of their right to vote for Games’ host cities.
“Inside Games,’’ an online publication for upcoming games and events, made the suggestion on the eve of a crucial meeting to choose a U.S. city for the hosting of 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.
The publication said that Probst believed that the IOC should adopt a model similar to FIFA when selecting World Cup host nations where only members of the executive committee voted.
“I’d like to see the IOC executive board decide where the Olympic Games will be held.
“They are supposedly the most sophisticated and knowledgeable people in the membership, so, I will like to see the executive board have more of a say,’’ Probst said in the publication.
It also stated that IOC currently had 106 members, with only 15 of these making up the executive board.
This means that the radical move suggested by Probst would dramatically cut the number of voters when deciding Olympic host cities.
Probst according to the publication, is due to meet with the USOC Board of Directors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on June 11.
The publication said the meeting was to create a shortlist of two or three cities as potential bidders for the 2024 Games.
“Although, the identity of the chosen cities has not been made public, Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington DC are among those to be considered.
“After the meeting, USOC is scheduled to select its final bid city by next year before the IOC selects the Games host city in 2017,’’ the publication said.
It also noted that the U.S. had not hosted a Summer Olympics since Atlanta 1996. (NAN)
