The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Buenos Aires, Argentina | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Olympic Committee President William Frederick Blick is one of nine proposed names to be voted to join the International Olympic Committee (IOC) top decision making body.
The names were proposed by the Executive Board in July ahead of elections at the 113rd IOC session due October 9 in Argentina that is hosting the World Youth Olympics.
IOC President Thomas Bach said: “In line with the recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC is constantly aiming at a more diverse and inclusive membership. The Olympic Movement would benefit significantly from the expertise of these nine candidates that we are proposing to the next IOC Session. Their extensive knowledge of the sports movement will add extra strength and experience to the universal college of IOC members.”
The addition of nine new Members would bring the total number of IOC Members to 106.
Five of these nine proposed new members are Individual Members. Five of those nominiated are three women and two men.
“In line with Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, the IOC Members Election Commission, chaired by HRH The Princess Royal, proposed these five to the EB following a targeted recruitment process guided by a specific set of criteria,” IOC said in a statement.
Four of the nine new proposed Members, in accordance with the Olympic Charter, are representatives of the constituents of the Olympic Movement: the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the International Federations (IFs) and organisations recognised by the IOC.
These four, including Uganda’s Blick, have been chosen in close consultation with the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) and the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF).
He would be the second Ugandan to get to the top of the IOC after Maj Gen Francis Nyangweso. The IOC members, are representatives of the IOC in their respective countries, and not their country’s delegate within the IOC.
Nyangweso spent 28 years (1981-2009) at the head of his country’s National Olympic Committee before Blick took over. Nyangweso died in 2011.
The nine candidates
These nine candidates offer various skillsets and come from backgrounds as diverse as sport, communications, business administration, international relations, women’s advocacy, finance, social welfare, economics and NGOs. All of them can bring skills and experience needed by the IOC, and aim to further strengthen the ranks of the Olympic Movement in the years to come.
All proposed members have been vetted by the IOC Ethics Commission, which has conducted integrity checks.
FULL LIST
Five proposed Individual Members:
Daina GUDZINEVICIUTE
(Female, Lithuania, President of the Lithuanian Olympic Committee, 23.12.1965)
Felicite RWEMARIKA
(Female, Rwanda, 1st Vice-President of the Rwandan Olympic Committee, 09.03.1958)
Camilo PÉREZ LÓPEZ MOREIRA
(Male, Paraguay, President of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee, 31.03.1969)
Giovanni MALAGO
(Male, Italy, President of the Italian Olympic Committee, 13.03.1959)
Samira ASGHARI
(Female, Afghanistan, 31.03.1994)
Two proposed Members whose candidatures are linked to a function within an NOC or world or continental association of NOCs:
William Frederick BLICK
(Male, Uganda, President of the Ugandan Olympic Committee, 17.10.1974)
HRH Prince Jigyel Ugyen WANGCHUCK
(Male, Bhutan, President of the Bhutanese Olympic Committee, 16.07.1984)
Two proposed Members whose candidatures are linked to a function within an IF or association of IFs, or an organisation recognised by the IOC:
Morinari WATANABE
(Male, Japan, President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), 21.02.1959)
Andrew PARSONS
(Male, Brazil, President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), 10.02.1977)
