The new chairman and board of the Olympic Committee will be elected at the end of November.
3.11. 21:05•Updated 3.11. 21:06
Known as a basketball coach Pieti Poikola announces that he is running for the presidency of the Finnish Olympic Committee. He tells about it in the press release he sent to Urheilu. Poikola’s candidacy in the presidential election has not been supported by any sports organization or sports federation.
According to him, all potential Olympic winners must have the opportunity for professional training without worrying about making a living.
In his press release, Poikola highlights the weak financial resources of Finnish elite sports, which he says is also the cause of the weak Olympic success.
– I want to be involved in creating the sports success story of a new generation of Finns. Along with my long coaching career, I have also worked in the immediate vicinity of the gambling industry, I recognize the mechanics of gambling companies and the will states towards the license market. That’s why I’m signing up to run for the presidency of the Finnish Olympic Committee, Poikola says.
In order to improve resources, his proposal is to establish a new betting company, the income of which would go unabated to support athletes and coaching.
– I don’t encourage gambling per se, but on the other hand, I would at least get something out of the money. It’s a huge market, and currently a large part of those euros goes to foreign owners, says Poikola in an interview with Urheilu.
“You have to be realistic”
Poikola says that even if he does not become the elected chairman, he would like to help the Olympic Committee develop ways to finance elite sports.
– I have to be realistic about my own possibilities. My main motivation here is to bring a new idea, how to get money for elite sports. That’s why I started this project.
Poikola, 46, has worked as a coach in Finland and abroad. Among other things, he piloted Tampere Pyrinnö to three Finnish championships in the men’s Korisliiga and has also coached the Danish national team. Poikola is currently the head coach of Lucenek, the Slovakian premier league team.
The chairman and board of the Olympic Committee will be elected at the organization’s autumn meeting on November 30. So far, only the principal of Kuortane sports college has registered for the chairman’s race Tapio Korjuswhich has the support of the Finnish Sports Confederation (SUL). Olympic javelin champion Korjus, 63, is a board member of the Olympic Committee.
Current President of the Olympic Committee Jan Vapaavuori said in mid-September that he is not aiming for another season.