Boa And Locog Settle Financial Dispute
The British Olympic Association and the London 2012 organising committee (LOCOG) have reached a deal to settle their bitter financial dispute.
The relationship between the parties broke down after the BOA questioned how any financial surplus from the Games would be calculated and divided.
The BOA wanted its 20% share based on Olympic income only but has now accepted defeat on that issue.
While the BOA has abandoned legal action, LOCOG will waive rights to royalties on two items of Team GB merchandise and allow the BOA to buy extra Olympic Games tickets.
LOCOG is adamant that London 2012 is a combination of the Olympics and Paralympics, insisting that no calculations can be made until both events are completed.
The settlement confirms all previous financial arrangements between the two organisations with the only new details relating to the waiving of royalties and extra tickets, which will be used by the BOA as part of their Team 2012 appeal and for a number of former athletes who have competed at the Olympics.
London 2012 will also ‘pro-actively support’ the BOA’s efforts to secure sponsors and other commercial partners for the 2013-2016 period.
The International Olympic Committee ruled in favour of LOCOG last month but the BOA began proceedings at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne in an attempt to gets its way.
Those proceedings were halted a fortnight ago so that the two sides could work on a negotiated settlement and have now been dropped completely following Monday’s resolution.
BOA chairman Lord Moynihan and chief executive Andy Hunt were suspended from LOCOG while the dispute continued.
IOC president Jacques Rogge made it known privately he wanted an end to this damaging dispute as quickly as possible.
Much of the Olympic community had rallied behind LOCOG in recent weeks, leaving the BOA with little room for manoeuvre.
There were calls for Lord Moynihan, who was elected BOA chairman in 2005, to resign if the case was rejected by CAS.
