The governing body - renamed England Boxing from its previous name as the Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE) as part of the restructuring - revealed the review will analyse its role, support it provides to grassroots boxing and assess the strategic priorities for the organisation and future development of the sport.

The change of name was part of a package of measures contained within the new Articles of Association which were ratified at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held last November.

The EGM was called as a result of months of infighting and fractious debate surrounding the composition of the ABAE Board.

The new Board was appointed by outgoing chairman Richard Caborn - former British Sports Minister - in September 2013 but the move was blocked by regional associations leading to his resignation.

However, the Board was ratified at November's EGM which staved off the threat of sanctions from the International Boxing Association (AIBA), which had provisionally suspended the ABAE in July for what it called "serious breaches" of its regulations, and ensured continued funding from Sport England following threats to remove funding support due to "significant concerns" about the governance of the association.

Grassroots boxing in England is set to benefit from a strategic review being carried out by England Boxing ©Getty Images



One of the other chief factors behind the restructuring was the need to comply with AIBA statutes and bylaws which no longer use the term "amateur" to describe boxing and instead recognise three variants of the sport: AIBA Open Boxing (AOB), Olympic-style boxing, World Series Boxing (WSB) and AIBA Professional Boxing (APB).

"The sport has recently gone through a period of significant change," read a statement by England Boxing.

"We have adopted a series of new rules and technical changes, appointed a new Board of Directors and approved new Articles of Association that have changed the governance and decision making processes of the organisation.

"In light of this, the new Board believes that now is an appropriate time to conduct a comprehensive strategic review to establish the current status of the sport and the governing body in England.

"The review will be a rigorous, fact-based assessment which will consult widely with clubs, members, volunteers and all of the key stakeholders involved in grassroots boxing.

"It will provide recommendations on key priorities and support the Board in developing a new strategy to support the continued development and growth of boxing in England.

"The review will not affect the day-to-day operations of England Boxing which will continue with its current activities and initiatives to grow participation and develop pathways for the country's most talented young boxers to progress."

Former British Sports Minister Richard Caborn left his role as ABAE chairman after a year of infighting and accusations ©Getty Images



An independent firm of global advisors, Portas Consulting, has been appointed by England Boxing to conduct the review which will be funded by Sport England, and as part of the process, clubs, members and volunteers will be consulted with the aim of delivering a new strategy to support the development and growth of boxing in England.

It will begin this month and will report its findings to the Board of England Boxing within three months.

England Boxing said that further details of the consultation process with members and clubs will be made available in the near future.

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