“We are gymnastics!” - that is the slogan of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

It comes from Morinari Watanabe, who was confirmed in office with 81 votes over the weekend.

Opposing candidate Farid Gayibov from Azerbaijan received 47 votes.

"I thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in me," Watanabe said through the press office.

Since 2016, when he was the first non-European to assume the highest office in gymnastics, the Japanese businessman has repeatedly tried to portray the “gymnastics family”, whose “father” he sees himself as. With the aim of getting to know all of his children, he tirelessly traveled the world. Lo and behold: The family has grown by seven new children, including Guam, Haiti, Lesotho, Rwanda, Antigua and Barbuda. The second most popular sport at the Olympic Games now has 156 member associations.

Despite Corona, 130 of them and over 340 delegates came to the congress in a luxurious golf resort in Antalya, Turkey, in order - according to the press release - to attend an "important moment in democratic life" of the FIG.

The evening before the election there was a dinner, donated by the Japanese National Olympic Committee and the Organizing Committee of the 2020 Olympic Games. Journalists are not part of the family in the gymnastics association: They were just as unaccepted at the 83rd Congress as they were most recently at the World Cup in Watanabe's Japanese hometown Kitakyushu.

Criticism of the election manifesto

There was a lot of discussion behind the scenes about the 62-year-old's election campaign. A paper circulated that dismantled Watanabe's election manifesto: "Watanabe's manifesto illustrates his complete lack of direction, his failure to manage and the blatant lack of a plan or strategy." Watanabe's willingness to travel was also criticized. The Nigerian daily Daily Trust quoted the President of the Nigerian Association, Prince Kelvin Erhunwmunse, following Watanabe's visit: "We will get many more devices, President Watanabe has made many promises."

Not only that: The Japanese ambassador to Nigeria, Matsunaga Kazuyoshi, was also in the gym in Abuja with Watanabe and sealed a partnership under which Nigerian gymnasts were funded scholarships for study and training in Japan. The Japanese government's commitment to Watanabe's re-election went even further: it explicitly called on a number of gymnastics associations to re-elect Watanabe.

One was “convinced” of the “extraordinary qualification” of the candidate, it was said, for example, in a letter from the Japanese embassy in Skopje to the North Macedonian gymnastics federation. Quite a few see this as a violation of the Olympic Charter, whose fundamental principles expressly prohibit political interference in the interests of sports associations. When asked about the role of the messages, Watanabe told Insidethegames industry service at the end of September: "I respect the rules of the FIG."

The work of the Association's Ethics Foundation was also presented in Antalya, which - endowed with two million Swiss francs in start-up capital - has been primarily responsible for protecting gymnasts since 2019.

But now her independence is in question: Last week, the foundation ordered a Russian candidate for the office of chairperson in rhythmic gymnastics, who had been withdrawn from her own association, to be re-included in the list of candidates.

Hardly a role for the Germans

On the eve of the election, it was the disciplinary committee of the same ethics foundation that reversed this decision and expelled the candidate again.

On the basis of which regulations this happened is unclear.

They were officially communicated by the FIG Secretary General, not by the Foundation itself. On the other hand, the Foundation allegedly refused to investigate the Japanese government's commitment to Watanabe, allegedly for lack of evidence.

The German Gymnastics Federation, with around five million members the largest national professional association, will hardly play a role in the FIG domestically.

President Alfons Hölzl failed in the attempt to win one of the 21 seats in the unimportant council.

But "Father" Watanabe, he promised, wants to look after all of his children.