(ATR) Former Ferrari president Luca Cordero Di Montezemolo is hot favorite to lead the Rome 2024 Olympic bid.
Around the Rings is told that the 67-year-old could be announced as bid leader in the next two weeks. Franco Frattini, Italy’s former foreign minister, is also in the frame to head Rome 2024.
The bid is waiting for the election of a new Italian president before making any official announcement. They will seek the president’s approval of Montezemolo before going public. The first round of voting to choose a replacement for former Italian president Giorgio Napolitano takes place on Jan. 29.
Italian IOC member Mario Pescante, who was at the forefront of Rome’s failed 2020 bid, told the Associated Press that Montezemolo was well-connected and the right man for the job . "It's not my job to [choose] but I have to say he's perfect, because of his experience in international sports and business," he said of Montezemolo, who led Italy’s 1990 FIFA World Cup organizing committee.
After quitting Ferrari last year after 23 years as president, Montezemolo was appointed chair of airline Alitalia.
The new bid leader will be unveiled before Feb. 11, the date Rome 2024’s leaders and Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) officials are scheduled to meet with IOC president Thomas Bach in Lausanne.
On Monday, ATR is told that CONI president Giovanni Malago will meet Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino to further discussions about the bid leadership and other issues linked to the city’s Olympic ambitions.
Two days ago, Malago and Italian PM Matteo Renzi had a 30-minute discussion about Olympic bid issues with Bach at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Bach gave the bid a lift by commending Renzi’s "strong commitment" to Rome’s Olympic quest.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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