DUBAI – Representatives of more than 120 national boxing federations will assemble in Dubai this weekend for an Extraordinary Congress of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), where they will discuss administrative reforms and pick a new chief to lead the organisation.

The UAE Boxing Federation (UAEBF) will host the Congress on Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton (Dubai International Financial Centre), in collaboration with Dubai Sports Council, and HE Anas Al Otaiba, President of UAEBF, said preparations are in full swing.

“This is the first time the AIBA Congress is being held in an Arab country and there are some very important issues on the agenda,” said Al Otaiba. The Congress will discuss proposed changes to its governance following allegations of financial management in 2017, which led to the resignation of its president Wu Ching-kuo.

A former basketball player, Taiwan’s Ching-kuo, AIBA’s president for 11 years, was suspended in October last year following a unanimous vote by AIBA’s disciplinary commission following allegations he had accumulated huge debts for the organisation through poor financial management and auditing.

Franco Falcinelli, AIBA’s senior vice-president and head of European boxing, had taken over the reins of the organisation as interim president following Ching-kuo’s departure, and the new president is expected to be named at the Congress this Saturday, at 4pm.

A former coach who can count three Olympic champions among his wards, Falcinelli has already arrived in Dubai to oversee the preparations for the Congress and has been working closely with the Executive Committee, who have been tasked with organising the Congress.

Omar Al Kindi, a Board Member of AIBA, is the chairman of the Executive Committee, which also includes Sultan Al Harmi, Omar Al Jabri, Wael Al Sammani, Bassam Ghanim, Ali Salama, Mohammed Al Shebli and Yahya Al Jabri.