Iraq’s citizens face an uncertain future, but one of the country’s first democratically elected officials in more than 35 years is on the road delivering a message of hope.
Ahmed Al-Samarrai, president of a new Iraq Olympic Committee recently welcomed back as an International Olympic Committee member body, was in Washington last week to update the State Department and the White House, including President Bush.
Diplomacy is a necessity, yet Al-Samarrai’s overriding priority ahead of the Summer Games in Athens is training and equipment for his nation’s athletes, who were neglected and even tortured under the old regime.
As the Iraqi committee was restored earlier this year, estimates placed the cost of rebuilding a sports infrastructure for world-class athletes at $25 million. That’s a long-term goal; as far as more immediate expenses, the IOC solidarity fund is paying for pre-Athens Games training and travel for about 28 qualified Iraqi athletes.
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| Ahmed Al-Samarrai (left) and Dr. Iman Sabeeh of the Iraq Olympic Committee meet with President Bush in Washington. |
Al-Samarrai preceded his U.S. visit with a trip to Japan, where the prime minister pledged financial aid. In Washington, members of London-based Iraqi Sport Ltd., a consortium working to raise funds to help redevelop Iraqi sports, accompanied him for meetings with representatives of U.S. companies, including Ford, Motorola and Nike.
Nike’s U.S. communications director, Dave Mingey, on leave through June to volunteer in Baghdad with the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, said Iraqi sports officials are seeking products and services over cash.
“We have been working very quickly in a number of areas,” Mingey said in a phone interview from Baghdad. So far, soccer balls have been donated by Adidas and Nike, and Korean manufacturer LG Electronics has agreed to a partnership involving its products.
The challenge of soliciting corporate and outside government support is minor compared with merely surviving day to day.
“I’ve had more than my share of mortars and rockets,” Mingey said. “There are people who question whether the U.S. should be here, but, in my opinion, that is water over the dam. We are here. I had a unique opportunity to come over and help; I thought it was the right thing to do.”
SEASIDE OR BLINDSIDE? The U.S. Olympic Committee is still awaiting a final assurance from cruise ship operator Royal Olympic that a ship the USOC reserved to house staff and other delegation members during the Athens Games will not be seized as part of bankruptcy proceedings before the Games conclude.
“We are still hoping to be able to use the vessel as we contracted for it,” said USOC general counsel Jeff Benz. “We are having active discussions. At this point we plan to use the vessel.”
Three Royal Olympic ships to be docked alongside the USOC’s contracted ship in Athens’ Piraeus port earlier this year were put on the sales block to satisfy the company’s creditors, leaving other national committees scrambling for alternatives.
DOUBLE COVERAGE: A senior IOC member voiced public confidence last week that Athens organizers are making up for delays ahead of the Aug. 13-29 Games. His visit with a 16-member delegation paralleled an IOC spokesperson’s acknowledging plans by the IOC to acquire a Games cancellation insurance policy, the first in its history.
The long-debated, 19,000-ton Olympic Stadium roof, now partly erected, is not the only coverage issue for the IOC amid global terrorism fears. As such, the IOC was still expected to follow through on last year’s decision to seek insurance for Athens, as well as future Games. Published reports indicated the Athens coverage would exceed $200 million.
A broker in the sports and entertainment division of Willis, a global risk management firm and event cancellation insurer, said the IOC could expect to pay a premium of 3 to 5 percent of the coverage amount, in this case a range of $6 million to $10 million. But it could be higher depending on the number of exclusions in the policy; the fewer the exclusions, the larger the price tag.
“One may argue that insurers would find [the Athens Games] an attractive opportunity,” said Michael Wright of Willis’ Atlanta office. “The risk makes them feel justified in charging a much higher rate than would actually be required for the coverage. They might try to tap into the desperation side of [the IOC].”
IOC President Jacques Rogge has said previously that even with more than $150 million in cash reserves, Olympic Games canceled by terrorism or a natural disaster would exhaust that cushion too quickly.
Former Goodwill Games President Jack Kelly, an international sports consultant, said the IOC might have been waiting to lock up insurance as part of a calculated strategy.
“They were probably trying to get further away from 9/11 to see if rates would go down,” said Kelly, who applauds the IOC’s decision because “in today’s world there are things you can’t predict that can go wrong” at a major sports event. He said the IOC might have to accept a huge deductible — up to $100 million — to negotiate an insurance premium that is affordable.
The IOC also can learn from the lesson endured by world soccer governing body FIFA, which had its 2002 World Cup cancellation policy voided by insurer AXA a month after Sept. 11, 2001.
GLOBE SPINNING: USOC sponsor Monster.com, the Internet job search engine, designed a Web-based application system to help the organization broaden its search for four independent members of what will be a newly created, streamlined USOC board of directors. Applications for qualified candidates will be accepted through Friday. Indiana Supreme Court Justice Theodore Boehm leads the panel formed to assemble the 11-person board, replacing a 125-member board drowning in divergent agendas. … A roster of Olympic medal prospects in swimming, their NCAA eligibility recently exhausted, has moved quickly to sign with agents. Natalie Coughlin signed with Janey Miller, whose agency bears her name; Brendan Hansen, Tara Kirk and Aaron Peirsol signed with Premier Management Group’s Evan Morganstein. … Two-time Olympian swimmer Gary Hall Jr., winner of eight gold medals, signed an endorsement deal with vitamin supplement maker Shaklee Corp., agent David Arluck said. Hall, planning to try to qualify for the Athens Games at 29, also recently entered into an apparel deal with Everlast, which plans to develop a competition suit.
Steve Woodward can be reached at swoodward@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
