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LAUSANNE. — International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach on Thursday unveiled plans for sports federations to have their finances and governance audited in an effort to combat corruption.

The audits will begin in 2016 and will apply to all international federations which receive financial aid from the IOC. “The audits will be led by independent organisations,” said Bach, and will also include national Olympic committees and Olympic Games organising committees.

The move comes as world football’s governing body FIFA and the IAAF, which controls track and field, are mired in corruption scandals.

On the ongoing FIFA crisis, Bach said he was encouraged by a range of reforms which should be adopted by the body’s 209 federations next February when a new president to succeed the suspended Sepp Blatter will be elected. “The reforms are definitely a great step in the right direction, if you look at them, finally there will be term limits (for presidents),” said Bach. — AFP