Boa Chief Frustrated At London 2012 Deal

Andy Hunt, the chief executive of the British Olympic Association, has hit out at the restrictions imposed on his organisation by the £30m joint marketing agreement it has in place with the London 2012 organising committee LOCOG.

Hunt believes the agreement struck in 2005 has left his organisation with a financial headache as it has effectively signed away most of its rights to strike deals with sponsors on behalf of Team GB for the 2012 Games.

Although the BOA insists Hunt was not attacking LOCOG, his remarks highlight a growing frustration at the BOA’s powerless position in the commercial market. 

Hunt said: ‘I am horribly constrained. I describe it as my hands are handcuffed behind my back.

‘They are then tied with bailing twine over the top of my head. And then I’m bound in a straitjacket, put in a metal cage and it’s called the joint marketing programme agreement with LOCOG. It was done before I got there and it is horribly constraining.’

The BOA made a £1.5m pre-tax loss in 2008 and chairman Lord Moynihan admitted in June that the LOCOG agreement ‘was not a good deal’.

LOCOG said it had renegotiated parts of the deal, leading to an increase in income to the BOA and British Paralympic Association, but it is loath to hand over much more of its own cash.

The organising committee did also provide a £2m advance for the BOA earlier this year.

A LOCOG spokeswoman said: ‘The model we have adopted is the one recommended by the IOC and looks at the historic revenue of the national Olympic committee to ensure that they are not out of pocket.

‘LOCOG has renegotiated elements of the BOA and BPA agreement over the last 12 months which has seen increased payments. We believe the agreement represents good value.’