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Washington Post
an hour ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Olympic leader Bach got 10% raise in 2024 payment that trails far behind soccer's elected leaders
GENEVA — The International Olympic Committee paid its president Thomas Bach $350,000 in 2024, the Olympic body said Friday — a 10% raise for his final full year in office after a two-year freeze. The payment, or 'indemnity' in Olympic language, revealed in its annual report is small compared to soccer bodies that, like the IOC, are based in Switzerland and count annual revenue in billions. Bach on Monday will formally hand over to President-elect Kirsty Coventry , who will start an eight-year initial term as the Olympic body's first female leader and first from Africa. The IOC has classed the 71-year-old Bach as a volunteer on a full-time executive mission who 'should not have to finance activities related to his function from his personal savings.' Bach, who also gets living allowances, was paid from 12% to 15% what soccer gives its top elected officials. FIFA paid its president Gianni Infantino $5.2 million in taxable salary and bonus last year, plus other expenses. Infantino also is among the 109 IOC members and so can claim $7,000 each year for office costs and $450 daily allowance when on Olympic business. UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin got almost $4.3 million in taxable income last year, including $300,000 from FIFA as one of its vice presidents. It is unclear if the 41-year-old Coventry will be a salaried president of the IOC instead of officially a volunteer. The IOC was asked for comment. The two-time Olympic champion in swimming left her job as sports minister of Zimbabwe after winning the seven-candidate IOC election in March. Bach's annual payment has been decided by the IOC's ethics commission on the stated principle 'the president should not financially benefit from his position.' The German lawyer held a series of business consultancies and board of director seats before being elected in 2013 to lead the IOC. The IOC paid Bach 225,000 euros ($259,000) in 2020. It rose to 275,000 euros ($317,000) in the year of his re-election, 2021, then was frozen for each of the next two years. International sports bodies have typically published details of leadership pay as part of governance reforms, particularly after corruption scandals in soccer. ___ AP Olympics:
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Olympic leader Bach got 10% raise in 2024 payment that trails far behind soccer's elected leaders
GENEVA (AP) — The International Olympic Committee paid its president Thomas Bach $350,000 in 2024, the Olympic body said Friday — a 10% raise for his final full year in office after a two-year freeze. The payment, or 'indemnity' in Olympic language, revealed in its annual report is small compared to soccer bodies that, like the IOC, are based in Switzerland and count annual revenue in billions. Bach on Monday will formally hand over to President-elect Kirsty Coventry, who will start an eight-year initial term as the Olympic body's first female leader and first from Africa. The IOC has classed the 71-year-old Bach as a volunteer on a full-time executive mission who 'should not have to finance activities related to his function from his personal savings.' Bach, who also gets living allowances, was paid from 12% to 15% what soccer gives its top elected officials. FIFA paid its president Gianni Infantino $5.2 million in taxable salary and bonus last year, plus other expenses. Infantino also is among the 109 IOC members and so can claim $7,000 each year for office costs and $450 daily allowance when on Olympic business. UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin got almost $4.3 million in taxable income last year, including $300,000 from FIFA as one of its vice presidents. It is unclear if the 41-year-old Coventry will be a salaried president of the IOC instead of officially a volunteer. The IOC was asked for comment. The two-time Olympic champion in swimming left her job as sports minister of Zimbabwe after winning the seven-candidate IOC election in March. Bach's annual payment has been decided by the IOC's ethics commission on the stated principle 'the president should not financially benefit from his position.' The German lawyer held a series of business consultancies and board of director seats before being elected in 2013 to lead the IOC. The IOC paid Bach 225,000 euros ($259,000) in 2020. It rose to 275,000 euros ($317,000) in the year of his re-election, 2021, then was frozen for each of the next two years. International sports bodies have typically published details of leadership pay as part of governance reforms, particularly after corruption scandals in soccer. ___ AP Olympics:
Irish Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
FAI urged to shut its door to UEFA over treatment of Drogheda United
It is terrible the way Drogheda United have been treated by UEFA. And it is time for the Drogs of War to go into battle because sporting success should always be determined by what happens on the pitch. While UEFA changed the rules for those who are part of multi-club ownership models, the whole thing still feels bizarre. That is why Monday was such a shocking day for Drogheda when it became clear the club had lost its appeal to the Court of Arbitration and Sport - meaning they would be unable to play in this season's UEFA Conference League. Read more: Drogheda United co-chairman says owners will stump up cash to cover Conference League exit Read more: Jack Grealish's true colours shown amid Man City transfer speculation If that was bad, things would then get even worse on Monday night. Despite taking the lead against Shamrock Rovers, they were then pinned back by a free kick scored by Graham Burke just before half-time before losing 2-1 via Aaron Greene's winner. And that made it a Black Monday that Drogheda are unlikely to ever forget. Of course there is nothing wrong with UEFA looking at multi club ownership and demanding sporting integrity. Nobody would want games taking place in sporting competition where two clubs owned by the same people could potentially be giving direction as to who should win. But there was no danger of such a scenario unfolding with Drogheda United. And that is why Drogheda United co-chairman Ben Boycott was right to state that his club was made an example of. Trivela, who now own Drogheda as well as Danish side Silkeborg, have put forward many potential solutions to ensure fair play would prevail. I believe Drogheda are spot-on to say the UEFA process has 'lacked consistency, clarity and fairness'. Multi-club ownership exists all the way through the world of football. According to a UEFA statement in March, 342 clubs are currently part of Multi-Club Ownership. In English football, 16 clubs in the Premier League, 10 in the Championship, 13 in League Two are involved in clubs with ownership involvement from the same people. Just look at Manchester City. They are a majority owned club by some of the richest people in Abu Dhabi. The City football group owns stakes in clubs in the UK, USA, Australia, India, Japan, Spain, Brazil, Uruguay, Belgium, China, Italy and Turkey. And there is no doubt if Drogheda United was part of the City global group then there is no way UEFA would have gone to war with the Drogs. That is why this week's events ask serious questions of the FAI. It is their licensing process that has allowed the Trivela Group to be majority owners of Drogheda need to understand what an absolute disaster this was for both Drogheda United and Irish football. Can you imagine if those in charge at Abbotstown made it clear to the top brass of UEFA that if they made an example of any Irish club - then the FAI would call in their own Drogs of War. Had they made it clear that the FAI and Irish football would never lie down and be bullied by the inconsistencies of UEFA, they would have made a massive statement. Anyone looking at this case will be able to see that Drogheda were treated very differently to any other club. And the fact they have been made an example of is something the FAI should never, ever accept. I demand that those in charge at Abbotstown come out now and fight against this injustice. The FAI must make it very clear to UEFA that unless a remedy is found to Drogheda's situation then the two bodies will be at war. That doesn't mean firing guns. But it does mean the FAI telling UEFA they are no longer welcome in Ireland. The FAI should shut the door on UEFA and make it clear no one from their organisation is welcome on these shores. If they do this, the FAI will win respect. If they don't, they will never be respected again.
Scotsman
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Hibs players 'desperate' to deliver early Europa League bonus for gaffer Gray
Pre-season programme includes 'switch off' order for World Cup stars Sign up to our Hibs football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... David Gray believes he'll reap a European bonus from day one of pre-season training – because the promise of playing in UEFA competition will have inspired every Hibs player to put in overtime during their short close season. But the Easter Road gaffer hopes his key men on international duty over a hectic summer get a complete rest before reporting back a week later than their team-mates. The bulk of the first team squad are back at Hibernian Training Centre this morning. They'll spend the day testing, with Gray joking that he'll be finding out which of his stars have enjoyed 'a good summer' simply by looking at the results. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Martin Boyle has been on Socceroos duty Players will be back at East Mains again tomorrow, putting in a light session before some of the big names take part in the Ron Gordon Football Challenge in the afternoon. They'll have Sunday off before getting down to the hard work – double and even triple sessions – from Monday before jetting off the Netherlands for a training camp next weekend. Gray, who now knows exactly what he's building towards following Wednesday's Europa League second qualifying round draw, feels the sport science staff at HTC have a good handle on what he needs. And he believes the challenge presented by facing Midtjylland over two games next month can only motivate players to put in the hard graft. 'It's a bit of a soft introduction the first couple of days,' said Gray, the former club captain adding: 'So we've got testing on Friday; that's when you find out who's had a good summer and who's not! 'To be fair, nowadays that's kind of a dying thing. They've all had their off-season programmes which they've been doing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'And they'll have already been excited about how the season ended, knowing that there are rewards for that European football. They'll all be looking after themselves and want to come back and hit the ground running - because everybody's going to be desperate to play in these games. 'So the Friday will be testing, find out where everybody is and then we can, as a result of that, judge exactly where the squad is. Then you build your individual programmes and what needs to be developed, your strength programmes and things, the gym-based stuff. Internationals need to regain 'mental freshness' 'That gives you a clearer path of what we're working with for the rest of pre-season. We'll have a bit of recovery Sunday and then get them on the grass properly on Monday. Day one. 'But it's not as if they haven't been doing anything. The difference now is nobody really allows themselves to decondition because of the programmes they've got.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hibs had a large group of players involved in international football over the summer, with Martin Boyle and Lewis Miller jetting halfway across the planet to help Australia qualify for the World Cup. Rocky Bushiri – a free agent still being being considered a Hibs player as contract talks progress– and the likes of Jordan Obita, Alasana Manneh and Nathan Moriah-Welsh were all on national service for their respective countries. Rocky Bushiri - still a Hibee All are due to report back towards the tail end of next week, with Gray telling all of his global travellers to make sure they switch off completely, the head coach explaining: 'The Australian boys, for example, didn't play the last game until the 10th of June, they've been flying all over the place. So they don't decondition the same as the boys that have been off. 'You still need that mental freshness. I really encourage the players to switch off from it, to go away, to do nothing, to spend time away from it. To try and recharge the batteries and reset the mindset. 'They will be coming back at different times slightly, but also they'll be in different stages of their fitness because they'll have been training right up to the 10th, 11th of June, whereas some of the boys have obviously been finished since the last weekend, the 17th of May. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'So there is a difference in time off and everything else. It is still important for these boys who have gone longer in their season. 'Boyle is a brilliant example of it. He's been hard at it for a few seasons now because of the internationals in the summer and everything else that comes with that. 'You need to make sure that you're looking after these players when they come back and you don't push them as hard. It's just a balance. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'That's why you rely on your strength and conditioning coaches and your physio and your medicine department. Our aim is to make sure we're all aligned on getting the players as fit as we possibly can. 'The off-season has gone quite quick. You only get just over five weeks off, which is still a really good break – because in years gone by it has been three weeks, four weeks depending on European ties and the League Cup and everything else. 'We always knew we needed to have a couple of plans in place to know exactly where we were going to be. We definitely want to make sure we give ourselves the best possible opportunity. 'Because we know we're going to have to be at our absolute best to get a positive result against Midtjylland. That's what we're all working for.'
New York Times
9 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Club World Cup daily rankings: Brazilian powers, Miami make their move
For nearly two decades, no FIFA tournament has been complete without a star turn from Lionel Messi. That was the bet the global body made upon awarding Inter Miami 'host team' honors — an addition it hoped could ensure the first expanded Club World Cup would have a sense of stakes, star power and an undeniable reason for neutrals to watch. On Thursday, they got their moment of magic, and Miami suddenly has a path toward the knockout stage. Advertisement Welcome to the second edition of The Athletic's Club World Cup daily power rankings, our look at who's hot, who's not, and how the struggle for global club supremacy is shaking out. Share your comments below and don't be shy to disagree. We'll run the rankings up to before the semifinals. We will update these rankings at the end of each day's play. Unlike our pre-tournament rankings that focused on the historical might of each team, this series is designed to live very much in the present. Simply, we'll use the results of this competition alone to project who has the best chance to win the trophy — as well as teams who appear doomed to an early ticket home. Capped by a Messi free kick, Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium witnessed the first competitive win by an MLS team against an opponent from UEFA. Beyond that history, Thursday treated us to Atlético Madrid's bounceback and a pair of Brazilian triumphs — including a famous win against the recently crowned champions of Europe. Only teams that played on Thursday will see serious changes to their ranking, while everyone around them will shuffle to accommodate until they play a second fixture. Onto the good stuff. (Teams that played on Thursday are underlined in the rankings.) 1. Bayern Munich (-): Smashed 10 past Auckland but bigger tests await. 2. Manchester City (up 1): Cherki, Reijnders, and Foden all impressive. Field, beware. 3. Chelsea (up 1): Creative and controlled opener. Palmer: 1g/2a in last 1,529 minutes. 4. Botafogo (up 5): 'Igor Jesus plus strong defensive shape' can beat anybody. It's canon. 5. Flamengo (-): Played like a favorite. Chelsea clash immediately must-watch. 6. Paris Saint-Germain (down 4): Uncharacteristically sluggish in second game. Aberration or worrying sign? 7. Juventus (down 1): Day one's biggest xG overperformers. Still, showed more intent than throughout 2024-25. 8. River Plate (down 1): Physicality set a strong tone against Urawa. 9. Inter Milan (down 1): Only Bayern out-generated their 2.68 xG. Still fell victim to Sergio Ramos. 10. Real Madrid (-): Still learning Alonsoball. Defense looked shaky. Trust the process? Advertisement 11. Palmeiras (up 2): Still Group A's favorite. Can they contain Messi? 12. Al Hilal (-): Bounou's heroics preserve point against Madrid. May have won with Mitrović. 13. Boca Juniors (down 2): The field's best-supported team in Miami. Could rue blown 2-0 lead. 14. Benfica (-): Gutsy comeback to spare early blushes. Concerning lack of creativity. 15. Atlético Madrid (up 5): Composed breakthrough led by midfield. Botafogo could thwart great escape. 16. Inter Miami (up 9): Messi's magic still invaluable. Another point will see them through. 17. Fluminense (down 2): Resilient start, but clearly left two more points on table against Dortmund. 18. Mamelodi Sundowns (down 2): 'The Sky is the Limit' after statement win 19. RB Salzburg (down 2): Like the crops, their performance sure needed the rain. 20. Borussia Dortmund (down 1): Sleepwalked through opener. In Jobe We Trust. 21. Pachuca (up 1): Could hardly get going against a limited Salzburg. 22. FC Porto (down 4): Buckled under duress. May get time off sooner than expected. 23. Los Angeles FC (up 1): A credible showing against a top Premier League side at full strength. 24. Urawa Red Diamonds (up 2): Created great looks – just couldn't convert. 25. Monterrey (up 2): Fought for a draw, but wildly outplayed by Inter. 26. Al Ahly (down 3): Another poor second half. Must catch Porto by surprise. 27. Seattle Sounders (down 6): Another 'moral victory' without points. A cruel draw, indeed. 28. Ulsan HD (-): Gave Mamelodi a game, but couldn't turn good build-up into threats. 29. Wydad Casablanca (-): 2-0 against City a fair scoreline – and validation of quality. 30. Espérance de Tunis (-): Scrapped with Flamengo for tournament-high 39-foul contest. 31. Al-Ain (-): Rui Patricio sure has fallen off, hasn't he? 32. Auckland City (-): It can only get better after shipping 10. (Illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; NurPhoto / Getty, Dylan Buell / Getty, Carl Recine / Getty, Angela Weiss / Getty)
