Current President Denis Oswald (pictured below) of Switzerland announced earlier this year that he was resigning from the role in order to allow ASOIF to retain a position on the IOC Executive Board when the 64-year-old finishes his eight-year term at the London 2012 Olympics.

The IOC will not allow Oswald to remain on the Executive Board to the point where his ASOIF Presidency expires in 2013, but because he has prematurely resigned from the role he is allowed to retain his seat until the end of this December.

Ricci Bitti (pictured top), the President of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), looks set to succeed Oswald as he is currently the only person to put forward his name for the Presidency.

All nominations for the position are due no later than May 7, 15 days before the ASOIF General Assembly on May 22 which will take place during SportAccord in Quebec City.

Should Ricci Bitti remain the only nominee he will duly be elected President and will take up the role in January 2013.

Ordinarily, the ASOIF President would take the organisation's seat on the IOC Executive Board as long as they are an IOC member.

But although Ricci Bitti is an IOC member, he has recently turned 70 and, therefore, will cease to be a member under current rules.


It means that there is likely to be heated competition for the organisation's IOC Executive Board seat and ASOIF director Andrew Ryan said that the issue will most likely be settled at the General Assembly.

"The greatest authority at ASOIF is the General Assembly and should that situation occur [Ricci Bitti becoming ASOIF President], candidates for the IOC Executive Board position would be put forward during our General Assembly and elected by our 28 member federations," Ryan told insidethegames.

"We have an ASOIF Council meeting two days before the General Assembly on May 20, but given that the two are in such close proximity the General Assembly will be left to decide the representative because that is the democratic way in which we are run.

"The chosen candidate would then be nominated to the IOC to be approved to join the Executive Board."

Several high-profile candidates have been mentioned as ASOIF's IOC Executive Board representative, including International Boxing Association (AIBA) President C K Wu of Taiwan, who has been an IOC member since 1988 and is known to be close to Ricci Bitti.

International Cycling Union (UCI) President Pat McQuaid of Ireland, the ASOIF vice-president, is also thought to be a key contender along with International Triathlon Union (ITU) President Marisol Casado of Spain and International Basketball Association (FIBA) secretary general Patrick Baumann of Switzerland, both of whom are currently on the eight-member ASOIF Council.

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