Guinea owes €90,850 after Paris 2024 Olympics
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is demanding that Guinea pay 90,850 euros following the 2024 Olympics
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The old saying goes that good accounts make good friends, but Guinea and the International Olympic Committee are currently at odds. The reason? An unpaid bill of 90,850 euros (59,593,693 CFA francs) left by the Guinean delegation to the 2024 Olympics organising committee, which the IOC is ordering the country to settle. According to information from Firawasport, the sum corresponds to accommodation and catering costs for the Guinean delegation during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The 2024 Games organising committee first asked the Guinean Olympic committee to settle the bill over this outstanding debt. But with no response, the matter was escalated to the IOC, which took charge and sent the Guinean committee an urgent reminder to pay the invoice, which relates to the care of Guinean athletes during their stays in Nice and Saint-Etienne. It also imposed penalties for late payment.
Threat to participation at the 2028 Olympics
With the situation still unresolved, the IOC has decided to freeze the operating grant of the Guinean National Olympic and Sports Committee, which is now hampered in many of its activities. This is a first sanction that could be followed by others if the situation drags on, notably the suspension of Olympic scholarships for Guinean athletes and the refusal to accredit Guinean officials at the Los Angeles 2028 Games. That would, in effect, prevent Guinean athletes from taking part in the 2028 Olympics.
Also read: 2024 Olympics: Marie Branser, the Guinean who competed for DR Congo at Tokyo 2020
To avoid reaching that point, the ball is now in the court of the Guinean National Olympic and Sports Committee, which will have to foot the bill... or pass it up so that it is settled by the State.