Saturday, May 29, 2021
"The Sad Lessons of the Saga of the World Combat Games" on No Holds Barred Patreon Page
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The article is at https://www.patreon.com/posts/sad-lessons-of-51832733.
Labels: combat sports, Eddie Goldman, GAISF, International Olympic Committee, IOC, Marius Vizer, No Holds Barred, Saudi Arabia, SportAccord, Thomas Bach, World Combat Games
Friday, June 05, 2015
No Holds Barred: Declan Hill on the FIFA Scandal and the Need for a World Anti-Corruption Agency for Sport
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with investigative journalist, academic, and expert on match-fixing in international football, Declan Hill.
We have just seen the arrests on corruption charges of numerous top officials of FIFA, the international governing of football, the world's most popular sport, which is known as soccer in North America and elsewhere. More arrests and indictments are expected, all of which has led to the resignation of FIFA president Sepp Blatter, just four days after having been re-elected for a fifth term.
The ongoing public exposures of FIFA's wrongdoing and the subsequent arrests have raised the questions of where else in sport is corruption so rampant, and what needs to be done to fight it.
To discuss all this, we spoke with Declan Hill by phone Thursday.
"We definitely need an international anti-corruption agency for sport," he stated.
A number of combat sports athletes in recent years have said they have been approached to fix fights and matches "for large sums of money" but have turned these attempted bribes down, he said.
"But they've almost inevitably never gone forward, because they don't trust the authorities in their own sport, not to either be behind it, or who would in some ways try to punish them for blowing the whistle," he noted.
"We need an agency where good, honest fighters can go and report what's happened, where an honest administrator working for a sports organization can go and blow the whistle on something. And also an agency that can set the standard, set the standards of transparency, say, 'This is what a good sports organization should do. Here are the basic protocols, just the basic business practices, here's the basic guidelines of what a true sporting organization should do.'
"It's not all that difficult. There have been a lot of studies on it. There have been a lot of reports and a lot of stuff. But this is what needs to happen."
We discussed more on the "surreal" story of FIFA's widespread corruption scandal and the arrests last week; the crucial role of freelance and independent journalists like Andrew Jennings and Jens Weinreich in relentlessly exposing FIFA's corruption, and the failure of the mainstream media in this regard; the "desperate" need for an international anti-corruption agency for sport; the crisis in SportAccord and the pressure from the IOC which led to the resignation of SportAccord president Marius Vizer, also shortly after being unanimously re-elected; the crisis in world sport, which is reaching a boiling point where open rebellions are taking place against sporting institutions which were once viewed as untouchable and revered; and much, much more.
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Labels: Andrew Jennings, anti-corruption agency, arrests, Declan Hill, Eddie Goldman, FIFA, football, freelance, Jens Weinreich, journalists, Marius Vizer, No Holds Barred, scandal, Sepp Blatter, soccer, sport, SportAccord
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
No Holds Barred: Declan Hill on IOC vs. SportAccord and Match-Fixing
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with investigative journalist, academic, and expert on match-fixing in international football, Declan Hill.
In April 2015, he was appointed Senior Fellow in anti-corruption in sports at the University of Brighton in Sussex, England.
We spoke with Declan Hill by phone Tuesday.
The escalating number of crises and scandals in world sport have led many to call for fundamental change in its structure and governance. Another result has been the emergence of an open battle between the lords of world sport, something which is usually reserved for behind-closed-doors intrigue.
Most notably, last week Marius Vizer, the president of both SportAccord (the international federation of both Olympic and non-Olympic federations) and the International Judo Federation, spoke at the SportAccord convention and issued a public flogging of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its president, Thomas Bach.
Vizer accused the IOC of, among other things, blocking SportAccord from organizing its own multi-sport events, not addressing the interests of the international federations, and preparing to launch an Olympic TV channel without a proper business plan. He bemoaned the poor financial state of many athletes around the world while the IOC rakes in millions and millions of dollars, noting that "athletes are lacking the necessary basic elements -- food, medication, equipment, preparation facilities and possibility to participate to competitions." And he said, "the IOC system is expired, outdated, wrong, unfair and not at all transparent. The Olympic Games belong to all of us and we need real reforms."
This was met not only with a rebuke from Bach, but also the issuing of a statement of "strong support" for the IOC by most of the summer Olympic sport federations -- which largely depend on their funding from the IOC -- and the severing or suspension of their ties with SportAccord. The one exception: the International Judo Federation.
While round one of this public fight may have gone to Bach and the IOC, it is clear that both sides got a bit bloodied by it and it is far from over.
Declan Hill explained the essence of Vizer's speech as saying to the IOC, "Basically, you're not sharing the pie. We want the pie. You're not sharing it. And you're putting a blockage on other multi-sports tournaments."
We discussed this battle and what it means for world sport, including the combat sports.
Declan Hill has also done extensive investigatory work into the mechanisms of match-fixing and its relation to illegal gambling rings.
"This one issue will kill off sport," he said. "I have been in Asia. I've worked, I've traveled in the sports world of Asia, and it is an elephant's graveyard of sports that have been killed off by this questionable integrity."
He stressed: "People simply will not watch a sport that they think is fixed. It surpasses doping. It surpasses any other ethical issue. People want to watch a sport. They don't want to watch theater. And really, the response of sports officials to this current generation, this current threat to the sporting world, has been lackluster at best."
The question of whether or not the verdict in the May 2 mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will be fair or fixed has been a topic of worldwide commentary and speculation. We discussed that and possible scenarios in this highly anticipated fight.
We also discussed his experiences training in boxing in Cuba; the allegations of attempted match-fixing in international wrestling; why there has been "very, very, very little" progress in the fight to reform world sport; why fans should let sponsors of corrupt sports organizations know that they will not purchase anything from them; and much more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.
Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.
Labels: boxing, Declan Hill, Eddie Goldman, International Olympic Committee, IOC, judo, Marius Vizer, match-fixing, No Holds Barred, SportAccord, Thomas Bach, wrestling
Monday, June 03, 2013
No Holds Barred: What The Hell Just Happened With The IOC And Wrestling?
Discussed are the blunders and some of the backroom machinations which led to wrestling at first being dropped from the Olympics, as well as the real power struggle which resulted in it finishing first in the voting for the sports on this shortlist.
Essential to understanding this power struggle is grasping analysis of investigative reporter Jens Weinreich in his article Who rules world sport? Part 1: Vladimir Putin, Marius Vizer and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Sabah. (That article is in German, so use a service like Google Translate if needed.)
The influence of Putin and his allies on events that transpired in both the IOC and FILA, the international wrestling federation, is highlighted. Also discussed are why FILA dropped grappling and amateur MMA, the urgent need for a battle against corruption in wrestling, the election of Marius Vizer as president of SportAccord and his proposal for a united World Championship event for the many Olympic and non-Olympic sports which are part of SportAccord, and much more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.
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American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
Labels: corruption, Eddie Goldman, FILA, grappling, International Olympic Committee, IOC, Jens Weinreich, Marius Vizer, MMA, No Holds Barred, Russia, shortlist, SportAccord, Vladimir Putin, wrestling
No Holds Barred: IOC News Conferences on Shortlist of Sports for 2020 Olympic Programme
The May 29 news conference started with the announcement by Mark Adams, IOC's Director of Communications, of the three sports which made the shortlist: wrestling, the joint bid of baseball and softball, and squash. Questions from reporters were also answered by Franco Carraro, the chairman of the Olympic Programme Commission. They explained the official criteria used to rate the Olympic sports and federations, and how the process of dropping and adding sports takes place. The full IOC is scheduled to decide in September which one, and only one, of these three sports will be on the 2020 program.
The May 31 news conference featured IOC President Jacques Rogge, whose term also ends in September, when there will be elections for his successor. He discussed, among other topics, why the IOC put in place a limit on the number of sports, federations, and athletes in the Olympics; why some sports and federations are made to leave the Olympic Games so as to have the "best Olympic program"; his views on the changes in wrestling since the new regime took over in FILA, the international wrestling federation, in February; the proposal by incoming SportAccord President Marius Vizer for a new united World Championships event involving all SportAccord federations, both Olympic and non-Olympic, to be held every four years; reflections on his career as IOC President; and more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.
Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
Labels: baseball, Eddie Goldman, Franco Carraro, International Olympic Committee, IOC, Jacques Rogge, Marius Vizer, Mark Adams, No Holds Barred, shortlist, softball, SportAccord, sports, squash, wrestling
