GENEVA (AP) — The IOC took a big step toward reintegrating Russia and Belarus into world sports Thursday by advising governing bodies to let the countries’ youth teams and athletes compete with their full identity of national flag and anthem.

Athletes have “a fundamental right to access sport across the world, and to compete free from political interference or pressure from governmental organizations,” the International Olympic Committee said in a statement.

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That message in support of athletes will be welcomed in Russia and Israel, whose athletes have faced recent discrimination, and comes less than three years out from the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games that risks facing political crosswinds in the United States.

The updated strategy on Russia was set at a so-called Olympic Summit — a meeting chaired by IOC president Kirsty Coventry that invites key stakeholders from the Olympic family.

“It was recognized that implementation by the stakeholders will take time,” the IOC said in a statement, adding that each sport’s governing body should decide how to define youth events.

Some sports bodies likely will face resistance from their national member federations, especially in Europe, to the updated IOC advice which repeats that Russia should still not be picked to host international events.

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The IOC’s latest move to ease the sporting isolation of Russia can apply to its own Youth Olympic Games which are held next year in Dakar, Senegal, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13. The Russian Olympic body is still formally suspended by the IOC and currently could not compete with its national identity.

“The above principles should apply to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and are recommended for adoption by all governing bodies and international sports event organizers for their own youth events,” the IOC said.

Russian teams have been fully excluded from international soccer, track and field and other sports since the full military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, while Russian and Belarusian athletes in winter sports are now starting to return with neutral status ahead of the Milan Cortina Olympics in February.

A small group of Russian and Belarusian athletes competed as neutrals without their national identity at the Paris Summer Games last year, where those countries were banned from team sports.

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A previous attempt to enable Russia’s potential return to youth sports was met with strong pushback by European soccer federations including Ukraine in September 2023.

European soccer body UEFA moved to reintegrate Russian Under-17 teams into its competitions but dropped its policy within weeks amid boycott threats by at least 12 of the 55 member federations.

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AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

The participants also received updates on the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games; the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games; the LA28 Olympic Games; and anti-doping matters following the 2025 World Conference on Doping in Sport, which was held earlier this month in Busan, Republic of Korea. 

The Olympic Summit recapped the IOC’s ongoing “Fit for the Future” consultations. “Over the past six months, we’ve experienced a fast-paced environment. Thank you to all of you for your time and effort in providing feedback on the ‘Fit for the Future’ consultations. Your insights have helped us identify both opportunities and challenges, guiding us toward collective success as one Olympic family,” Coventry said when welcoming the participants.  

While discussing the “Fit for the Future” process, the 14th Olympic Summit endorsed the principles established by the IOC’s Working Group on the protection of the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, notably that the existing Principles and Olympic Charter Rules provide strong tools to ensure that the Olympic Movement remains politically neutral.  

During the wide-ranging discussion, the importance of political neutrality for the Olympic Movement was acknowledged, as it allows athletes to access sport across the world without interference. At the same time, it was highlighted that the concept of political neutrality within the Olympic Movement and sport needs clearer definition, and its practical application should be further clarified. The IOC’s Working Group will take this up.  

The Summit also reaffirmed that athletes have a fundamental right to access sport across the world, and to compete free from political interference or pressure from governmental organisations. As role models in society, athletes have at the same time a responsibility and an obligation to respect, uphold and promote the Olympic values, before, during and after competition. 

In light of the discussion around the principles, the Summit supported the IOC EB’s recommendation that youth athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport should no longer be restricted in their access to international youth competitions, in both individual and team sports. The definition of youth competitions and the application of these recommendations depends for this purpose on the regulations of each International Federation (IF). The Summit participants committed to take these discussions back to their organisations for their consideration. It was recognised that implementation by the stakeholders will take time. 

In addition, the standard protocols of the IF or the International Sports Event Organiser regarding flags, anthems, uniforms and other elements should apply, provided that the national sports organisation concerned is in good standing. 

The above principles should apply to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, and are recommended for adoption by all IFs and International Sports Event Organisers for their own youth events. 

At the same time, and based on the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, all athletes and their entourage must continue to support the Olympic Movement’s mission to promote unity and peace. Athletes and entourage members who act against this peace mission could be removed from competitions by the IF, their National Federation, their National Olympic Committee or the International Sports Event Organiser. 

In parallel, the IOC’s Recommended Conditions of Participation for International Federations and International Sports Event Organisers of 28 March 2023 should remain in place for senior competitions, and will be reviewed as necessary.  

Existing sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian governments should also remain in place. In particular, the restriction on accreditations or invitations to international sports events or meetings for government officials from Russia and Belarus should remain in place for both senior and youth events.  

IFs should continue to refrain from organising or supporting international sports events in Russia. This recommendation no longer applies to Belarus. 

With its considerations today, the Olympic Summit recognised that athletes, and in particular youth athletes, should not be held accountable for the actions of their governments – sport is their access to hope, and a way to show that all athletes can respect the same rules and each another.  

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

IOC President

Kirsty COVENTRY (Chair)

IOC Vice-Presidents

Juan Antonio SAMARANCH

Nawal EL MOUTAWAKEL

Gerardo WERTHEIN

Pierre-Olivier BECKERS-VIEUJANT (excused)

Athletes’ Commissions

Emma TERHO, Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission

Gaby AHRENS, Chair of the ANOCA Athletes’ Commission

DING Ning, Chair of the OCA Athletes’ Commission

Isabel SWAN, Chair of the Panam Sports Athletes’ Commission (excused)

Johanna TALIHARM, Chair of the EOC Athletes’ Commission (excused)

Ken WALLACE, Chair of the ONOC Athletes’ Commission

International Federations/Associations

Ingmar DE VOS, President of ASOIF

Nenad LALOVIC, IOC EB Summer IF Representative

Ivo FERRIANI, President of WOF

Husain AL-MUSALLAM, President of World Aquatics

Sebastian COE, President of World Athletics

Johan ELIASCH, President of FIS

Gianni INFANTINO, President of FIFA

Jae-youl KIM, President of the ISU

Luc TARDIF, President of the IIHF

Morinari WATANABE, President of the FIG

National Olympic Committees/Associations

Robin MITCHELL, President of ANOC

Mustapha BERRAF, President of ANOCA

Spyros CAPRALOS, President of the EOC

Timothy FOK, Acting President of the OCA

Neven ILIC, President of Panam Sports

Baklai TEMENGIL, President of ONOC (excused)

GAO Zhidan, President of the Chinese Olympic Committee

Gene SYKES, President of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee

Guests

Kristin KLOSTER, Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for Milano Cortina 2026

Humphrey KAYANGE, Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for Dakar 2026

Nicole HOEVERTSZ, Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for LA28 (excused)

Witold BAŃKA, President of WADA

Valérie FOURNEYRON, Chair of the International Testing Agency (ITA)

Andrew PARSONS, President of the IPC

Observers

Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa AL-THANI, Senior Vice-President, ANOC

Jacques ANTENEN, Chair-elect of the ITA

Michael Vick Leads the 2026 Class

A Deep, Diverse 2026 Class

By Canton Citizen

It was a season to remember for Canton Youth Football’s seventh grade team, which advanced all the way to the AYF Super Bowl for the first time. Led by head coach Jeff Eckler and assistants Mark Thomas, Pat Hurley, Rick Darr, Dennis Crowe, Jay Baldiga, Chris Kennedy and Jack Connolly, the Bulldogs went 8-1 against a tough slate of Hockomock League teams before meeting their match against North Attleboro (also 8-1) at Dedham High School last month.

Team members included Ryan Crowe, Alex Darr, JJ Eckler, Abel Kesselman, Richie Savery, Declan Anastasia, George Max Kimball, Mike Simone, Rowan Hurley, Max Thomas, Anthony Pazini, Jordan Blair, Sean Kennedy, Colton Baldiga, Tommy Foley, Rory McDonald, Kam Camillo, Ronan French, Jax Son, Brian Flannery, Luke Erhard, John Joyce and Matthew Dutkiewicz.

The Bulldogs would like to thank the high school squad, who came down to run live plays against them, the eighth-grade team for all the scrimmage time, and Ed and Keri Mantie from Mantie Strength Academy for preparing them to be “stronger, bigger and faster!”

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=132925

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