The ANOC Gala Awards Ceremony, was held for the first time during the Assembly last Friday (November 7). Billed as the "Oscars of Sport" it recognised top athletes of the past and present, including 800 metres Olympic champion and world record holder, David Rudisha, and the nine-time Olympic gold medal winning gymnast, Larisa Latynina, along with teams, administrators and National Olympic Committees.

Larisa Latynina accepts the Outstanding Performance Award from Thomas Bach during the ANOC Gala Awards ©Getty Images



There was something slightly predictable about the fact the two main NOC awards went to the United States and Russian Olympic Committees (forgive slight bias, but weren't the British Olympic Association at least equally deserving of the London 2012 award, especially as they finished third overall in the medals table ahead of Russia, having won just one gold medal only four Games previously? But I digress...) and some presentational and logistical tweaking could certainly be made.

Overall, the event was a success, and with social media to be incorporated into the awarding of next year's winners, the Ceremony is set to grow and grow.

The second event is the World Beach Games, approved by the General Assembly in Bangkok and currently seen as most likely to be held for the first time in 2017. Coming out of the shadow of the Asian Beach Games, and with an exciting blend of established and less established disciplines and sports freshly adapted to the sand, it is a fascinating concept, with full backing, albeit with no direct organisational input, from the IOC.

The only slight confusion I have is that when the event was first muted, it was billed as a collaboration between ANOC and Sport Accord, but this latter involvement was not really mentioned during the Assembly. More discussions regarding potential dates and location will take place over coming months, with concrete details promised at the 2015 ANOC General Assembly in Washington D.C., so we can expect this to all be resolved soon.

The Asian Beach Games, held in Muscat in 2010 and taking place for a fourth time in Phuket next week, is the inspiration behind the World Beach Games ©Getty Images



Along with the usual presentations by Organising Committees and Commissions, one word raised time and time again during the Assembly was "autonomy". Something also repeatedly highlighted by Bach, making sure all NOCs are free from Government interference is a key focus for both the IOC and ANOC, with the recent UN Directive on the autonomy of sport hailed as a key breakthrough.

Again, there is some slight ambiguity here. What about, for instance, those NOCs where the President is also the political leader of the respective nation? Belarus, Qatar and Azerbaijan, to name three examples. But there has been success this year with regard to India, Pakistan and The Gambia, and it is hoped others, like Egypt, will soon follow suit.

ANOC are working with the IOC here and, more generally, repeatedly reiterated their support for the ongoing Olympic Agenda 2020 reform process. By exploring some of the same issues, it is hoped ANOC and the continental federations will complement Agenda 2020 and contribute to the discussion.

In this regard, a Working Group consisting of NOC and Bid Committee representatives has been convened by the European Olympic Committees, to look into why so much of the European public has turned against the idea of an Olympic bid. A good idea, and undoubtedly a crucial issue, although I do feel the Group would benefit from having wider input, from journalists, consultants and politicians as well as from those implicitly within the Olympic bubble...

Solving the dwindling desire for European Olympic bids is a challenge for ANOC and the EOC as for the IOC ©Facebook



Other important discussions took place in the various continental meetings held the day before the General Assembly began. The issue of "autonomy" was raised once again in an eventful Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa discussion, where hopes to return the African Games to ANOC rather than Governmental control as soon as possible provoked heated discussion.

During the Pan American Sports Organization General Assembly, elections to the ANOC Executive Council drew the headlines. But, more generally, jostling and political manoeuvring also took place as Presidential contenders begin to put themselves forward ahead of the expected stepping down of former ANOC chief Vázquez Raña, absent through illness last week, when his latest term in office ends next year.

In the Olympic Council of Asia Advisory Council meeting, meanwhile, concern was expressed about the expanding scale of Asian sporting events as well as the danger of athletes from elsewhere being enticed to compete for Asian nations.

Nationality issues are also a challenge for the Oceania National Olympic Committees, with the Samoan representative raising concerns over the eligibility rules in rugby ahead of the sports Olympic return to the programme at Rio 2016. Could some of those many players who have left the Pacific Islands to compete for other nations be able to return to Samoa, Fiji or Tonga at Rio 2016? The ANOC President promised to work with the International Rugby Board to address the issue.

The Pacific Islands hope that star players, including Fijian born New Zealand legend Joe Rokocoko, could be enticed back to their birth nations at Rio 2016 ©Getty Images



This rugby issue was another example of Sheikh Ahmad embracing the opportunity to tackle an issue in the sports world. In recent weeks he has spoken passionately about problems in cricket, defended the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup in the face of an international media onslaught, and voiced his opinions on a range of other issues, from the woman jailed in Iran for attending a volleyball match to the wearing of hijabs in sport.

Considering how enthusiastic he was about welcoming the "return" of the United States into the Olympic fold ahead of next year's ANOC General Assembly, maybe he will next turn his gaze on American sports? Or maybe Formula One in the post Bernie Ecclestone era?

In his press conference after the end of the General Assembly, Sheikh Ahmad made clear that he sees himself as a representative of all different cultures around the world. Someone to defend countries like Iran, Qatar and China in the face of a western media assault, but to also represent European and North American interests.

"There are problems with cultures we have to accept," he said. "This is the excitement of life. This is the duty of sport to bring cultures together."

So while ANOC is one of those three powerful actors in the sports world, still sitting on one side of the IOC, it is the one whose influence is growing the most, in a large number of different ways. With Sheikh Ahmad freshly elected last week to serve for another four years, the organisation is now poised to grow in further, both in terms of visibility and power.

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