Man United issue last-minute backing for Sebastian Coe in his bid for the most powerful job in sport – as club hail his role in new £2bn stadium plans
Manchester United have made a surprise last-minute intervention in the International Olympic Committee presidential election by throwing their support behind Lord Sebastian Coe in his bid for the most powerful job in sport.
Coe is one of seven contenders seeking to succeed outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach, with the election taking place in the Greek harbour town of Pylos on Thursday.
The World Athletics president is viewed as one of three leading candidates for the role, along with IOC vice-president Juan Antonio Samaranch Jnr of Spain; and multiple Olympic swimming champion Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe’s sports minister.
Coventry, 41, is believed to be Bach’s favoured replacement.
On the eve of the vote, Premier League giants Man United have offered their backing to Coe.
In a letter to Coe, Man United chief executive Omar Berrada hailed the 68-year-old has been an ‘unrivalled leader in global sport.’
Man United have offered their backing for Sebastian Coe’s bid to become IOC president
Man United chief executive Omar Berrada offered their support on the eve of the election
Coe had been tasked with chairing a taskforce overseeing Man United’s new stadium plans
Berrada also highlighted Coe’s role in developing Man United’s plans for a new £2billion stadium, which were revealed last week.
Coe was tasked with chairing a taskforce overseeing the project as part of a massive regeneration of the Old Trafford area of Manchester.
‘Just as you supported us so magnificently as the chair of the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force, I want you to know that everyone at Manchester United is backing your campaign to become the next President of the International Olympic Committee,’ Berrada wrote.
‘You have demonstrated your impeccable credentials as an unrivalled leader in global sport, and we were fortunate enough to benefit from those priceless skills as you drove forward, and shaped, our ambitious vision for a new stadium and the regeneration of Trafford Park.
‘There is no doubt that if you are elected you will be a most innovative and effective leader of the Olympic Family, and we wish you every success in tomorrow’s election at the 144th IOC Session in Greece.’
Coe is the most well-known of the candidates, as a double Olympic champion at the blue-riband 1500 metres in 1980 and 1984.
His role as chairman of the London 2012 Olympics had led to Man United turning to him to support their stadium plans, highlighting the regeneration of east London as part of the Games.
Coe is standing as a reform candidate, promising more transparency, as well as backing women’s rights in the transgender row in sport.
Berrada said Coe had helped drive forward Man United’s ‘ambitious vision for a new stadium’
The Red Devils revealed their aim to build a £2billion new 100,000 seat stadium last week
Coe is one of seven candidates standing to succeed outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach
Kirsty Coventry, left, and Juan Antonio Samaranch, right, are among Coe’s rivals in the election
As president of World Athletics, a position he has held for a decade, he has also taken a strong stance against Russia.
Mail Sport understands that the current regime in Lausanne want ‘anyone but Coe’ ahead of the election, with 109 members of the IOC set to cast their preferences on Thursday.
Coe is seen as too unreliable and too much of a maverick by Germany’s former foil fencer Bach.
It has been argued Bach was annoyed by World Athletics ‘blindsiding them’ by offering prize-money of $50,000 (£39,000) to track-and-field gold medallists at the Paris Olympics last year.
