By Tom Degun

Andy_Hunt_in_front_of_Team_GB_logoApril 20 - British Olympic Association (BOA) chief executive Andy Hunt (pictured) has claimed that the bitter financial dispute between his organisation and London 2012 regarding any surplus from the Games was unfairly "jumped upon" by the media, simply because it was the first major crack to appear in the preparation for the Games.


The BOA and London 2012 reached an agreement on the issue earlier this week, which is weighted heavily in favour of London 2012, who were strongly supported by both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the British Government throughout.

The BOA is due 20 per cent of any surplus after the Games and claimed that the cost of staging the Paralympics should not be taken into account, but they have been forced to concede that any surplus will be distributed only after the costs of the Olympics and Paralympics have been settled as stated in the original contract signed between the BOA and the IOC in 2005.

"I think the issue got unprecedented media attention mainly because LOCOG and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) have done a fantastic job on delivering the venues and planning for the Games," Hunt told insidethegames.

"Therefore, everyone was looking for some little crack, some form of bad news.

"It was then that this row came along and it was jumped upon, perhaps unfairly so, and the crack was really opened up.

"Thing got blown out of all proportion but I maintain that this was a narrow, technical dispute about the interpretation of a contract.

"We have now agreed on the interpretation and we have now agreed on how we are going to work in partnership.

"We are very happy as we got clarification about how the payments will be made after the Games, in terms of if a surplus is created, and we are now working in partnership heading into London 2012."

During the row, both Hunt and BOA chairman Colin Moynihan, the main driving force in the campaign to raise extra money for their struggling financial accounts, were suspended from the London 2012 Board, but both are now set to be able to resume their positions.

Hunt claims that the row has actually helped strengthen the relationship between the two.

"We have had a great relationship in with LOCOG over the years but I think all this has really strengthened our partnership whether it is in terms of operational planning for the Games, whether it is getting support from sponsors in planning for the next Olympic cycle or indeed making sure that we can build the best team in London with the best possible support network," he said.

"There was no 'climbdown' from us as we now have a better understanding about what was agreed between LOCOG and Government, which was unclear before.

"It is a win-win for both of us and I'm just pleased that we've got that dispute over and done with and that we're all working in partnership heading into London 2012."

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