Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah Asks Int'l Olympic Committee To Clarify Lobbying Rules

Olympic Council of Asia President Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, who "played a controversial role" in the election of new IOC President Thomas Bach, has "insisted he is no 'kingmaker' but called for the rules over lobbying to be clarified," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. The Kuwaiti sheikh "is president of the umbrella group of 205 national Olympic committees" and is responsible for distributing nearly $400M of the IOC's money among them. On the eve of the vote, Bach's Swiss rival for the presidency, Denis Oswald, "publicly criticised his close links with the sheikh, prompting a reprimand from the IOC." After the vote, Oswald again said that "the IOC would have to look again" at the role of Al-Sabah during the campaign. Oswald: "That is something, in my opinion, we will have to discuss. We knew it was a very difficult race and we did our best" (GUARDIAN, 9/11).