John Coates’s AOC paid $6.4m to pick up sponsorships

The Australian Olympic Committee has been embroiled in a sponsorship controversy.

The Australian Olympic Committee has been embroiled in a sponsorship controversy, as the battle for control of the organisation intensifies in the lead-up to its internal elections.

The AOC was found to have paid $6.4 million in commissions to sponsorship agencies prior to the Rio Olympic Games last year, the Herald Sun reports today.

The figure — almost a third of the amount spent on the Olympic team — has emerged amid the ongoing battle between incumbent president and veteran sports administrator John Coates and his rival, 1996 hockey gold medallist Danni Roche, to be the next AOC president.

According to the Herald Sun, the AOC paid the seven-figure commission to agencies such as marketing outfit Lagardere Sports from a total of $49.6m earnt from sponsorships, licensing and online advertising between 2013 and 2016.

Lagardere Sports, which operates from the AOC’s Sydney ­offices, is believed to have been handed the majority of the $6.4m to assist in raising sponsorship.

The AOC spent $19.9m on the 2016 summer Olympic team over the same period.

The revelations come at a difficult time for Mr Coates, who faces mounting pressure from Ms Roche, who is gaining popularity among her peers and members of the Turnbull government.

Senior government sources told the Herald Sun Mr Coates’s association with the “hard Labor” side of politics was not in the best interest of Australian sports.

Mr Coates has been a strong supporter of Lagardere, saying in the AOC’s last annual report the marketing business had assisted the organisation to obtain long-term sponsors. “I thank Lagar­dere Sports for achieving these results and the commercial ser­vices they provide in managing our sponsor relations,” he said.

The AOC election will be held on May 6.