ROME, (Reuters) – Turning tennis courts into swimming pools is the least of Rome’s worries ahead of the World Aquatics Championships next month.
Many facilities are not ready, prosecutors have been probing alleged irregularities at a related project and the organising committee president threatened to quit after a row with the swimming federation.
“There’s no use denying that we’ve had problems,” Domenico Fioravanti, Italy’s double breaststroke gold medallist at the Sydney Olympics and a championship sponsor, told Reuters.
“But adversity can create positive things. It’s hard for something to improve if everything runs smoothly from the start.”
Trouble began in May when Italian Swimming Federation President Paolo Barelli, a senator with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s party, asked Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno to sack organising committee head Giovanni Malago.
When the request was rejected by fellow party member Alemanno, Barelli set his sights on having the powers of organising committee director general Roberto Diacetti transferred to an official nominated by the federation.
A compromise was thrashed out at a board meeting last week, when it was decided that an administrator would be brought in to work alongside Diacetti.
The rift came after months of reports of delays, accompanied by images of structures clearly far from completion with the championships due to start on July 17 and finish on Aug. 2.
Diacetti said this was not an issue at the main competition venue, the Foro Italico complex that includes the Stadio Olimpico soccer ground, as much of the work had not been scheduled to start until June.
