Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah and his younger brother Talal Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah are suing the IOC

Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, long one of the most prominent figures in the global sports movement, but who lost his posts after a corruption scandal at the International Football Federation (FIFA), as well as his younger brother Talal Fahad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, joined the fight against the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which deprived them of prestigious posts. Kuwaiti officials have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) the IOC’s decision to annul the results of the summer elections for the President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The post went to Talal Fahad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, but the IOC overturned the voting results, citing manipulation by the winner’s older brother.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne registered claims from Sheikhs Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah and Talal Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. In them they demand to cancel the decision of the International Olympic Committee to annul the results of the July elections of the President of the Olympic Council of Asia. The younger of the two brothers won them, but was immediately stripped of his post after an emergency meeting of the IOC Executive Committee. At the moment, it is occupied by the representative of India, Randhir Singh, who previously had the status of acting president.

The conflict between two Kuwaiti sheikhs and the main sports structure is an extremely noticeable event due to the weight of the plaintiffs. More precisely, one of them. For a long time, Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah looked not even like a heavyweight among sports functionaries, but a real super heavyweight. OCA was founded in 1982 by his father Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The son actually inherited the organization that oversees sports in the Asian region. He took it over after the death of the founder during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

After this, Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah gradually increased his authority in the international sports community, getting into the governing bodies of various structures and foundations. He became a member of the IOC, vice-president of the International Handball Federation (IHF), was elected to the executive committee of the International Football Federation, and even headed the Association of National Olympic Committees, an extremely significant element of the Olympic landscape. His influence eventually grew so much that experts confidently said that the current IOC president, Thomas Bach, would never have managed to first win the post ten years ago without the support of the Kuwaiti. Moreover, for some time it was believed that Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah was the main candidate to succeed Mr. Bah, or perhaps his main competitor.

Mr al-Sabah was let down by his football activities. In 2015, FIFA was rocked by a massive corruption crisis that ousted many high-ranking officials. One of his victims was Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah. Testimony against him was given in the United States by a member of the federation’s audit committee, Richard Lai, who claimed that he received bribes totaling $950 thousand from the OCA. Later, problems with Swiss justice were added to this, accusing the Kuwaiti of forgery.

Having maintained a high position in his home country with the posts of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Kuwait, Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah was forced to voluntarily give up his membership in the IOC, hoping to regain it after restoring his reputation. With OCA, Mr. al-Sabah acted more cunningly. Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah decided to transfer the “family asset”, the leadership of which he left in 2021, to his younger brother, who defeated his compatriot Hussein al-Musallam in the elections held in Bangkok.

Meanwhile, the IOC was clearly dissatisfied with their outcome. Its ethics committee immediately initiated an investigation into the election, finding out that Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah was also in Bangkok during the meeting of the General Assembly. According to the committee, he could essentially manipulate the election from his hotel room, hosting delegates there. The IOC has described the move as “unacceptable interference” and its director general Christophe de Kepper has sent a letter to various national Olympic committees and sports federations informing them that al-Sabah Sr.’s provisional suspension will turn into a full three-year ban with the loss of “all rights and prerogatives.” Insidethegames claims that the document even contains a warning for IOC members to “refrain from any contact with Sheikh Ahmad al-Sabah,” despite the fact that, according to a number of sources, including The New York Times, and after the football crisis, he is no longer Having formal positions, he still continued to play an important role in sports politics.

Alexey Dospehov