Olympics cash row forces IOC to enter as mediators

A bitter row over funding between London 2012 organisers and the British Olympic Association has led to the IOC being forced to intervene to settle the issue.

The dispute has escalated to the point where London 2012 chiefs yesterday attacked the BOA leadership for abandoning the original vision of staging the Olympic and Paralympics as “one festival of sport”.

The IOC are now to step in to rule on the row, which centres on the cut the BOA would receive from any surplus cash left over after the Games.

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The BOA are due to receive 20 per cent of any money left over but claim that the cost of staging the Paralympics should not be taken into account when calculating the surplus.

That claim has also been disputed by the British Paralympic Association, who have come out in support of the London organising committee (LOCOG).

BOA chairman Lord Moynihan and chief executive Andy Hunt have long complained that they were short-changed by the joint marketing programme agreement (JMPA) over 2012 sponsors that their predecessors negotiated with LOCOG in 2005.

Although the BOA have already secured an extra £6m on top of the original £27.6m, they now have their eyes on any surplus, but the JMPA specifically states that any surplus is judged after the running costs of both the Olympics and Paralympics are taken into account.

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LOCOG, whose initial target is just to break even on the cost of staging the Games, said: “The vision for London 2012, created by the BOA, Government and the Mayor of London and set out in the bid book, is for one festival of sport, with an integrated Olympic and Paralympic Games, underpinned by a single budget.

“It is sad that this vision is now disputed by the new leadership of the BOA. We are grateful that the IOC is helping to resolve the issue.”

According to the BBC, Lord Moynihan is threatening to take London 2012 to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne if the ruling is not in their favour.

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