It was as if all the mutterings behind the scenes had suddenly erupted into the public sphere as first the construction of venues and then accommodation, transport, leadership and all manner of other issues were put to the sword.

Using the ASOIF voice to express these growing concerns can be viewed as a clever ruse by the IOC to avoid breaking a trend of not criticising Olympic host cities in place since Athens 2004. But their introduction of task forces, a special advisor and more visits from IOC executive director Gilbert Felli are unlikely to alleviate growing fears that the trend of successful Summer Games may be coming to an abrupt end.

And, despite this being something strongly denied by Bach, fears are increasing due to the growing proximity of the FIFA World Cup and then the Brazilian Presidential elections. If the Olympics are not dealt with soon they will be lost on the horizon among a tidal wave of more immediate concerns...

Rio 2016 faced a barrage of criticism on multiple fronts of its preparations for the Games in a little over two years' time ©Getty Images


Other big issues on the Convention agenda encompassed preparations for upcoming events, from the inaugural World Beach Games to the Youth Olympics and Commonwealth Games later this year, as well as the fallout from the long-awaited doping bans handed to Jamaican sprinters Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson.

The one area less prominent in terms of news than I was expecting was the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic race. This was until the remarkable revelation that Kraków bid leader Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak was resigning after allegations her husband had attempted to bribe journalists into writing favourable stories. No offers were made to insidethegames I can assure you...

With these problems for Kraków, Lviv's bid on the backburner pending the Ukrainian elections, and Oslo and Beijing barely anywhere to be seen in Belek, the prospects are looking brighter and brighter for Almaty.

But there was so much else going on at the Convention, and the thing which appealed to me the most was the prominence of non-Olympic sports. From sambo to tchoukball, flying disc to tenpin bowling and American football to mountaineering, all were represented as they battled on an even keel with more established Olympic disciplines.

Even the International e-Sports Federation were present: a somewhat surprising participant I felt considering the number of times President Bach has cited the importance of sport to "get the couch potatoes off the couch...".

Insidethegames' Lauren Mattera proved a natural at one less familiar sport of bowling following some tuition from a world champion ©ITG



Another dimension of the Convention were the panel discussions. After a nervy public speaking debut, I feel the need to cite the momentous nature of the Youth Club panel, but the clear highlight for me was the final discussion on integrity in sport.

I have grown very used to hearing customary lines being pandered out on combating problems in sport, so it came as as a shock to hear ex-basketball player John Ameachi launch into a damning criticism of everything the sports world stands for. After describing the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the US as the "world's last remaining plantation", the American born Briton turned his attention to the Movement for always "setting up another bloody Commission called Ethics" rather than a proper response to a problem.

As someone who has just stood down from the IOC Ethics Commission, this attack was probably not appreciated by fellow panel member Sir Craig Reedie either, who after a busy week preaching the World Anti-Doping Agency message at one meeting after another, was probably anticipating a nice, relaxed afternoon discussion.

But not for nothing has Sir Craig been one of the great doyens of the sports world for the last four decades and, with customary class, he battled back by describing the many measures taken to combat doping and match fixing, and ridiculing the claim that International Federation Presidents were complicit in corruption in sport. Ameachi appeared to be straining at the leash to hit back with another riposte but, with all the experience of a former athlete, he realised he had reached his limits and relented.

John Ameachi and Sir Craig Reedie were two of five participants in a pulsating discussion on integrity in sport ©Twitter


This was all great entertainment but it also symbolised the fact that sport has never been more relevant and important throughout the world. From Ukrainian intervention to Turkish Twitter bans via Brazilian bureaucracy, South African court cases and Saudi Arabian civil rights, sport has a remarkable global relevance.

At the centre of all of this was SportAccord President Marius Vizer in his first Convention since taking over the helm of the organisation last year.

My first impression of Vizer is that he is not a man to be crossed, from his damning condemnation of Brian Cookson for having the cheek to suggest judo should be moved to the Winter Olympics, to a press conference abruptness completely alien to anyone used to the speed of answers given by Thomas Bach and Association of National Olympic Committees President Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah.

Vizer's big plan for the SportAccord Convention in 2015 is to ramp it up in scale, grandeur and significance, with the number of participants set to rise five-fold from 1,636 to around 8,000.

The danger here is losing the unique charm of the event and for the scale to become too big and beyond the core audience of the immediate Movement. But with a greater cultural, artistic and educational dimension and a larger business presence resulting in more commercial opportunities, the changes are very appealing as well.

But beyond all else the sports world is very good at changing and adapting and it is likely that positive elements will result whatever changes occur. And you get the feeling that, whether it is held in Abu Dhabi, Durban, or Sochi, the 2015 SportAccord Convention will be another celebration of the Olympics and wider sporting Movement in all of its glory.

Nick Butler is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Twitter click here.