Michael Payne backs John Coates in AOC battle

Former IOC marketing director Michael Payne has put his weight behind John Coates in this weekend’s AOC election.

(FILES) This file photo taken on August 23, 2013 shows Australian Olympic Committee chief John Coates arriving for a press conference in Sydney. Powerful Australian Olympic Committee chief John Coates is facing a crisis April 2017 as he seeks re-election, with the organisation rocked by claims of bullying in a bitter push to oust him after 27 years. / AFP PHOTO / SAEED KHAN

Former International Olympic Committee marketing director, Michael Payne, has warned that “local politics” working against the re-election of Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates risked “destroying 30 years of leadership for Australia on the world sports stage”.

“Coates maybe no saint in his choice of language,” Payne, who was IOC marketing chief during the Sydney Olympics in 2000, tweeted from his base in Switzerland yesterday where he is a global sports marketing adviser.

#AOC Presl election battle, wonder if local politics & agendas risks destroying 30 years of leadership for Australia on world sports stage

— Michael.R Payne (@MichaelRPayne1) May 3, 2017

”But current local political agendas in Australia are ignoring real legacy,” he said.

“If he were to lose it would take a generation — twenty years or more — for an Australian to build up the level of influence John now has on a world stage.”

Mr Payne was making his views known by tweeting in the lead up to Saturday’s bitterly contested election for president between Coates, who has been AOC president since 1990 and 1996 Olympic hockey gold medallist Danni Roche.

Mr Coates has held the position uncontested since he took office in 1990.

Mr Payne, who was involved in the successful marketing and sponsorship deals for the Sydney Olympics, admitted that he had “had his differences” with John Coates over the years.

But he said the AOC needed to fight to keep its independence from government interference.

“You cannot fault his fight to protect the independence of the Olympic committee from government interference,” he said.

Mr Payne said he wondered if the presidency battle was really a fight for control of the Australian Olympic Committee which has a foundation with some $145 million in assets.

He said the AOC was seen as a role model for national Olympic committees around the world.

Its strong finances, Australia’s Olympic medal count and its international respect were “a result of strong leadership by John Coates.”

He said many other national Olympic committees wished they had the same results as the AOC.

English born Mr Payne worked with the IOC in marketing roles for more than two decades, from 1983 to 2004, working in marketing and negotiating some of the largest ever television rights deals for the Olympics, before going out on his own to form his own consultancy, Payne Sports Media Strategies.

He worked for a while as an adviser for former Formula One owner Bernie Ecclestone.

Mr Payne is the author of the book Olympic Turnaround where he talked of the marketing success of the Sydney Games.