Postponing the Games was correct but costs will be high: Brazilian Olympic Committee

RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar 24 (Reuters) – The decision to postpone the Tokyo Olympics was sportingly correct but will have a major financial impact on national committees, the president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) said on Tuesday. ), Paulo Wanderley.

The COB budget for the Olympic project was 43 million reais (about $ 8.5 million) and the agency still does not know what the total impact of the postponement of the Games due to the coronavirus pandemic will be, since they will have to negotiate with airlines, training venues, logistics companies and other providers.

When it comes to air travel alone, the COB had purchased nearly 600 tickets from AirCanada.

“From a sporting point of view it was the most correct decision, but the impact will be great and we will work to minimize that,” Wanderley said in a telephone interview with Reuters.

The COB did not have insurance in case the Games are postponed, Wanderley said, because “that was never thought of,” but acknowledged that what happened represents “a lesson and a teaching” for national Olympic committees.

According to the leader, the COB has no intention of requesting resources from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to handle the additional expenses caused by the postponement because it believes that eventual aid will go to smaller countries, with little structure and a history of financial difficulties. .

The IOC already has an Olympic solidarity program for these countries, Wanderley said. “We have no such intention of additional support at this time, we do not fit that profile.”

Asked if he could turn to the federal government for additional resources to prepare athletes for Tokyo, Wanderley stated that the government has other needs and priorities to address the coronavirus crisis.

“We operate as a company. We will try to reduce costs, expenses, as much as possible without damaging the final result ”, he assured.

(Edited in Spanish by Daniela Desantis)