Kmita said he wants Poland to host the Olympics, even if it has to wait until 2048. He said Poland’s bid for the 2036 Games was definitively closed, citing the security situation and referring to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s remark that Poland was living in a “pre-war period”.
The Polish Olympic Committee has informed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that Poland is interested in hosting the Games in 2040 or 2044. Kmita has not ruled out 2048, saying several indications point to Europe hosting the Games that year.
Kmita pointed to France, which hosted the 2024 Summer Olympics, and Italy, which hosted the 2026 Winter Olympics. He said both countries had achieved major success beyond the financial dimension, citing national pride, a stronger sense of identity and record medal hauls.
The accounting firm EY Poland has been selected to audit the Polish Olympic Committee’s documents from 1 January 2023 to 27 August 2026. The audit is expected to be completed by mid-November.
Work is also under way on a new PKOl statute, which has been sent to all 106 member institutions. Kmita said it should be completed by early February, followed by a statutory general meeting to adopt it.
Kmita said relations with the Ministry of Sport and Tourism had improved. The ministry provided funding for Poland’s participation in the 4th Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, scheduled for 31 October to 13 November.
Kmita also highlighted work on the Polish House project in Los Angeles, efforts to attract public and private-sector sponsors, and the committee’s financial difficulties.
“We have no chance of breaking even by the end of the year because we do not have the resources. We are talking to our creditors. Our most pressing debt is to the company that provided us with cars. We have PLN 1.5 million (EUR 342,000) to repay this year. We have split the debt into instalments of PLN 500,000 (EUR 114,000) each. We will make the final payment in March. We are still operating on the edge of liquidity, although our credibility is slowly returning,” Kmita said.
Kmita said he wants the PKOl to take on a broader role than organising the Olympic team’s logistics and to contribute to Poland’s sports strategy.
“We have greater ambitions. We want to start working with the ministries of national defence, health and national education. At this critical time for Poland, the Polish Olympic Committee could, for example, play a role in promoting pro-defence attitudes through athletes employed by the military, such as Julia Szeremeta, Aleksandra Mirosław and Klaudia Zwolińska,” he said.
Kmita took over the duties of president in mid-September after Radosław Piesiewicz was detained and remanded in custody for three months. He has not yet decided whether to stand in the spring election for PKOl president.
(sp)
Source: PAP