India, Nov 14 : International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kristy Coventry has said the organisation is reassessing its approach to Esports and reviewing its gender eligibility policies, emphasising the need to safeguard the integrity of the female category in global sports.
Speaking to Xinhua during her visit to China, Coventry said her administration, which began in June, has entered a “Pause and Reflect” stage. “On June 24, I started my presidency saying: let’s pause, reflect and analyse whether we’re fit for the future,” she said.
Coventry noted that the IOC’s new direction is centered on collaboration and listening. “The way you build a successful team is that everyone has to feel they’re individually succeeding,” she said. “A lot of this process is about listening and getting collective input from everybody.”
Under her ‘Fit for the Future’ initiative launched in September, the IOC has created four working groups covering the Youth Olympic Games, the Olympic programme, commercial partnerships, and the protection of the female category.
Addressing the IOC’s decision to end its partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the Esports World Cup Foundation—initially aimed at launching the Olympic Esports Games—Coventry said both parties agreed the project required reassessment.
“We jointly agreed that we needed to re-evaluate a number of things,” she said. “There is a huge opportunity, but there were question marks on how we would implement it and what that would look like.”
A smaller internal team is now reviewing how the IOC can enter the Esports landscape responsibly. “We have to be very clear because that’s new territory for us,” she said, noting ongoing debates about whether to include only sports-themed titles.
On reports suggesting an imminent ban on transgender women in elite sports, Coventry clarified that the matter is still under scientific review. “We have set a working group to look at the protection of the female category,” she said. “It’s a medically driven, scientific discussion.”
She cautioned against drawing premature conclusions. “Some people may be jumping the gun. We need to allow the experts to finish their work and return with their recommendations,” she said.