The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has allocated a total of $100 million to national Olympic committees and international sports federations in a bid to overcome the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IOC press service said in a statement, Trend reports citing TASS.
"The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has already supported the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and International Federations (IFs) with more than $100 million since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis," the statement reads. "To date and as needed, $63 million have been allocated to IFs and $37 million to NOCs."
"The IOC, as the leader of the Olympic Movement, is playing a critical role in supporting its stakeholders during the COVID-19 outbreak," according to the IOC statement. "The organization has swiftly delivered on its commitment to allocate an aid package program for the Olympic Movement."
The 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo were scheduled to be held between July 24 and August 9, and the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games were planned to be organized between August 25 and September 6.
The IOC and the IPC (the International Paralympic Committee) announced on March 24 a decision to postpone for one year the tournaments in Japan due to the continuous COVID-19 spread. Yoshiro Mori, the head of the Tokyo-2020 Olympics Local Organizing Committee, announced on March 30 that the Summer Olympic Games in Japan next year will start on July 23 and the Summer Paralympic Games will begin on August 24.
Commenting on the decision to deliver the financial aid, IOC President Thomas Bach said: "The Olympic Movement is facing an unprecedented challenge."
"The IOC has to organize postponed Olympic Games for the first time ever, and has to help its stakeholders come through this global crisis," the IOC chief continued. "This new situation will need all our solidarity, creativity, determination and flexibility."
"We shall all need to make sacrifices and compromises," Bach said. "Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures.
"This situation requires every one of us to do our part, and this applies to all of us, including the IOC," he said.
"The IFs are facing financial hardship due to the cancellation of sports events and the impact on the sporting calendar of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 being held in 2021," the IOC head stated. "Due to the urgency of the situation, payments to IFs started in June 2020, and the program is still continuing. "