Film-maker Anant Singh gets nod for influential role at the Olympics

04 June 2016 - 10:30 By TMG Digital

South African film producer Anant Singh is among eight new names proposed for membership of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).There are two notable names not on the list: IAAF President Sebastian Coe and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. While they head two of the world's biggest sports‚ their federations have been hit by corruption scandals‚ and Olympic officials said it was too early to bring them onto the IOC‚ CNSNews.com said.Inside The Games.biz reports this leaves football and athletics without an official representative on the IOC following the retirements of Sepp Blatter and Lamine Diack‚ who had both previously been members.The nominations‚ in Switzerland on Friday‚ will be officially voted on during the IOC Session‚ which is due to take place in Rio de Janeiro between August 1 and 4‚ the insidethegames.biz website reports. It will take the total number of members to 99.The recommendation states the board’s intention is to "enable the IOC Session to be composed of Members with different sets of skills and knowledge while ensuring the necessary balance in terms of gender and geography".The 60-year-old Singh is South Africa’s pre-eminent film producer. He produced the 2013 film "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" about former South African President Nelson Mandela as well as Place Of Weeping‚ Sarafina! and Cry‚ the Beloved Country.Luis Moreno‚ president of the Inter-American Development Bank who served as Colombia's ambassador to the U.S. from 1998 to 2005‚ and Nita Ambani‚ founder and chair of the India-based Reliance Foundation‚ are also on the list‚ CNSNews.com reports.The others are Sari Essayah of Finland‚ a former Olympic race walker who chairs the Finnish Christian Democratic Party; Ivo Ferriani of Italy‚ president of International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation; Auvita Rapilla‚ secretary general of the Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee; Tricia Smith‚ president of the Canadian Olympic Committee; and Austrian Olympic Committee chief Karl Stoss...

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