OFI warns athletes may not get enough tickets for Tokyo Olympics

Now the transformation is complete, all 36 sporting member federations of the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) approving two amendments to the constitution which will bring further closure on its previous incarnation, the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI).

At an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in the Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin, two votes were taken: to seek approval from the members to change the company name from the OCI to the OFI, and to reduce the number of officers on the board from five to three over the next five years.

In September 2018, the OFI was first rebranded, which involved and new logo and new trading name, the successful vote represented the final step in the process and completing the legal name change process in its entirety.

The vote to reduce number of the officers on the OFI board from five to three, and the number of ordinary board members from seven to six, during the coming five years, was also passed: the change is to ensure that room is allowed for adding two new independent members onto the board, a change that was already approved last year.

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Separately, members were advised that boxing and hockey tickets for Tokyo 2020 will go on public sale in Ireland from Monday December 9th at 10am.

With the Irish women’s hockey team recently securing their place in Tokyo, this also guaranteed a further 80 Category A tickets per match, via the organising committee. Priority will go to athlete and family requirements, with the surplus then going on public sale. A further 1,044 tickets were also secured for the boxing events only, being sold later due to the late confirmation of that sport in Tokyo.

Similar to the initial public sale, and other worldwide sales of Olympic tickets, demand is expected to be very high with tickets expected to sell out quickly. Restricted supply and unprecedented demands means the OFI has already indicated it will be unable to guarantee all athlete and family ticket requirements for Tokyo, now less than eight months away.

It’s also shaping up to Ireland’s largest team in Olympic history, with more female representation, across more sports, while also the most costly for the federation.

"There will be some cases where people don't get the tickets that they want and that will include athletes' families," said Peter Sherrard, chief executive officer of the OFI. "That's difficult to say, but I think we're better off saying it. We're doing our level best, and doing it the right way. We are micro-focused in how we deal with the athletes, when they come into us, but it won't always be possible to meet them all."