The International Athletics Federation (World Athletics, WA) updated its Board of National Federations yesterday and withdrew the name of Antonio Lozano Pineda as head of the Mexican Federation of Athletics Associations (FMAA), according to the platform of Xpectrofm news.
The adjustment confirms, internationally, the loss of recognition that the Mexican sports agency itself communicated last March.
Israel Benítez Morteo, legal representative of the FMAA, had anticipated that the WA portal would soon reflect the legal situation in force in Mexico, where Lozano lacks validity as a leader since 2024, according to Xpectrofm.
With the update, the presidency box for Mexico appears as a slope, while the FMAA and World Athletics refine the details of a technical supervision process that will define the new federative structure.
“The important thing is now to give certainty to athletes and ensure that the 2025 calendar is maintained without shocks,” said Benítez Morteo in a statement.
Background
Lozano headed the Federation between 2008 and 2023. Various state associations challenged their reelections since 2013, claiming irregular statutory modifications and lack of economic transparency.
In 2021, a Federal Court sentenced him by improper administration of public resources, a resolution that is still in the compliance stage.
Next steps
World Athletics must appoint a team of supervisors in the coming weeks that will accompany the FMAA in internal reorganization and in the validation of national skills and brands towards international commitments of 2025, according to XpectTrofm.
Meanwhile, the FMAA reiterated that all the efforts of guarantees and athlete records continue to operate through their official channels and alert the community to “verify any call that promises international classification without support of World Athletics.”
“With the Lozano departure from the Board of Directors, the road is clear so that the transition is formalized and Mexican athletics recover full institutional stability under the standards of the International Federation,” said Israel Benítez.
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