Irish boxers have LA Olympics hopes revived following pivotal EGM ruling

Things would have looked bleak if the vote had gone the other way.

Ireland's hopes of competing at future Olympic Games have been revived after the Irish Athletic Boxing Association passed a crucial vote to remove all references to the International Boxing Association (IBA) from their constitution.

Requiring a 51% majority, 73 of the 145 clubs who registered for Saturday's EGM at the National Stadium voted in favour, with 40 against and a further 27 votes spoilt - meaning the resolution was comfortably passed.

Clubs attending the IABA’s EGM today have voted in favour of a motion to remove reference to the IBA (AIBA) from the Association’s constitution.

In order for the changes the changes requested by clubs today to take effect, clubs will be asked to vote on a special resolution.… pic.twitter.com/ZVMxgAH12W

— IABA (@IABABOXING) October 12, 2024

Had it swung the other way, the Olympic Federation of Ireland had threatened to withdraw recognition of the IABA as Irish boxing's national body.

The IABA is on course to join World Boxing in the coming months, an organisation whose aim is to secure the future of Olympic boxing.

IABA chief Niall O'Carroll said this week that if that didn't happen it would be "catastrophic" for the hopes of young Irish boxers with Olympic dreams.

"This is extraordinarily serious and important to the future of this organisation," he said. "People turning up to vote because they’re angry with me, or angry with the Coaching Commission, or angry with the Central Council or angry with the Board of Directors, are completely losing sight of the fact that this vote vote is about an Olympic future for our children.

"No one benefits from boxing not being in Los Angeles and absolutely no one in Ireland benefits from boxing not being part of the Olympics."

He added: "We are the most successful Olympic sport in the country. It would be catastrophic to lose that."

The OFI is monitoring World Boxing's bid to become the sport's globally recognised federation.

If the IABA fails to vote in favour of joining World Boxing, Irish boxers will not be eligible to participate in the 2028 games in LA.

For years, boxing has been one of the country's best chances of securing an Olympic medal. This summer in Paris, Dublin's Kellie Harrington won gold and retained the tile she held since Tokyo 2020.

"Today was a hugely positive day for Irish boxing," said O'Carroll after the result of the vote was announced.

"Clubs have called their own EGM and have decided they want to remove IBA from our constitution. This will, when those changes are voted on, mean that clubs have the freedom to work with clubs in any federation they want, including the USA, England, Germany, and others. This is vital for the development of our clubs and our boxers."

He continued: "It's equally important that we acknowledge our status as Ireland’s most successful Olympic Sport, and the heritage that stems from that incredible status. I know some club members have stated on social media that the Olympics is just a two week tournament every four years – but it’s much more than that.

"It’s the dream of kids when they first walk in club house doors. They want to be Kellie Harrington. We want them to have that opportunity and today, we moved a step closer to making sure they can still hold that dream.

"It is the clubs, and only the clubs, who will decide if IABA leaves, or joins, any international federation," O'Carroll added. "One of the things I will do is to contact the IBA and World Boxing – the IBA to get clarity on a number of issues, World Boxing to understand what their plans are with regard to creating competitions for the future because, at the moment, there just aren’t the competitions for kids."