Sparked perhaps by yesterday's decision to not add any new disciplines to the Games for Rio 2016 - a move that left several sports disappointed, Rogge explained the new method might be the only way to amend the Olympic programme while keeping within the limits of the charter.

"We are bound by other things in the [Olympic] Charter that says there can only be 28 sports, 10,500 athletes and approximately 300 events," he told reporters on a conference call.

"We have written to the [international] federations with a request to make proposals that are quota neutral.

"This means federations can make a proposal for a new discipline but the premise is that another discipline will be taken out of the Games so as not to increase the number of athletes or the number of medals.

"Federations have expanded over the request – they have asked for more athletes, more events and more medals.

"We decided not to inflate the Games and we will not accommodate for more events now for 2016.

"There will be a new study of the Olympic programme based on disciplines rather than on sports.

"The project of ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations) will be to take away a number of disciplines from sports that are deemed to have too many events and locate them to sports that are not in the programme so they can participate without increasing the number of events.

"It's a very technical issue."


Rogge, who has held the most powerful position in sport for 12 years, added that the initiative is something he will not deal with and it will be left to his successor to explore the possibilities following his election in Buenos Aires on September 10.

The 71-year-old Belgian said he expects the study to take place during 2017 with a view for implementation during 2020.

He did admit, however, that the Olympic programme is a "very emotional issue" because of its importance to the future of not only international federations but also for the athletes.

"When I was elected in 2001, we were in a system where there was an inflation of sport events and sports," Rogge told insidethegames.

"There was under 20 sports in Barcelona, there was 20 in Sydney [Athens 2004 featured 301 medal events in 28 different sports and Beijing 2008 featured 302 events also in 28 sports].

"So the very first thing we decided was to cut the number of sports to 28 and the number of athletes to 10,500.

"At the same time we realised that we could not stay with a conservative, rigid system and that we needed a revolution within the 28 sports and that led to the elimination of softball and baseball, led to the inclusion of golf and rugby and now at the session in Buenos Aires we will have 28 sports out of the shortlist of three sports [baseball-softball, squash and wrestling,].

"I think that on one hand we have blocked inflation that was very dangerous to the size and the cost of the Olympic Games, at the same time the system has allowed for changes within the 28 sports."

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