Lord Coe is coming under increasing pressure from within the IAAF to give up his position as a paid ambassador for Nike.
With the world governing body gripped by the worst crisis in its history, members of the 26-strong IAAF council believe the new president has to sever his professional ties with the sportswear giant.
Forcing Coe to stand down would be costly for the double Olympic champion. Nike pay him around £100 000 a year as a brand ambassador. But Sportsmail understands there is also a view among senior IAAF officials to make the president’s position one that comes with a salary. Currently it is an unpaid position.
Coe is due to face questions about his links with Nike, as well as the IAAF’s handling of the doping crisis, when he appears before a parliamentary select committee later this month.
But already there is concern at the IAAF about his role at Nike, given a section of the governing body’s constitution on potential ‘conflicts of interest’. It states that ‘should a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict of interest, arise between the IAAF and any IAAF official, or if there is a danger of such conflict arising, the individual concerned must refrain from taking any further part in the handling of the matter.’
The IAAF has more pressing concerns about the situation in Russia after an independent commission report revealed a ‘state-sponsored’ doping programme earlier this week.
IAAF councillors will discuss via conference call tomorrow whether the Russian federation should be suspended from the sport.
The council will meet at IAAF headquarters later this month with Coe due to present his proposals for reform, including a move towards independent testing.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach handed Russia a lifeline yesterday when he said: ‘I think Russia will co-operate to make progress and to be sure that Russian athletics is compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency. This is what it needs to be in order to participate in the Olympic Games.
‘Now we have this enquiry about athletics, the international federation will draw its conclusion and will take the necessary measures. We’re convinced Sebastian Coe will do whatever is necessary.’
With the IAAF council meeting scheduled for the day after Coe appears before MPs at Westminster, the issue of the president’s Nike links will almost certainly be discussed there.
Since Coe’s predecessor, Lamine Diack, is already the subject of an investigation by French authorities, amid allegations that he and others accepted bribes to cover up the positive drugs tests of Russian athletes, councillors are mindful that the image of the office of the president has already taken enough of a battering. – Daily Mail