World Aquatics Expels Mexican Swimming Federation; Creates Committee to Recognize New Group

The World Aquatics Bureau (AQUA Bureau) has unanimously expelled the Mexican Swimming Federation from World Aquatics membership effective November 22, 2024, the latest escalation in the global governing body’s reshaping of the Mexican federation.

To assist in the establishment of a new federation in Mexico, the Bureau has created a recognition committee in respect of any new group/federation seeking recognition from World Aquatics for admission as a member,” AQUA said in a release.

A rare occurrence, the move comes after years of turmoil in the federation and an attempt to stabilize the existing federation.

While AQUA (then known as FINA) issued no sanctions to the Mexican Swimming Federation in 2015 for falsifying entry times for the World Championships, they were first suspended in 2016 for withdrawing as hosts of the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Guadalajara.

That was the beginning of a long saga that saw the former president of the Mexican Swimming Federation Kiril Todorov suspended earlier this year while under investigation for embezzlement and “repeated failure…to comply with FINA’s good standards.” That included not complying with procedures amid a provisional suspension.

Todorov oversaw years of scandal in the federation from 2009 through 2022. In 2018, the Federation was under fire after poor water quality sickened over 400 athletes at Mexico’s Short Course National Championships In 2020, the Federation allegedly hid its entry criteria for the Tokyo Olympics.

In 2023, World Aquatics installed a Mexico Aquatics Stabilization Committee to lead the organization chaired by Maria Jose Alcala, a former World Championship medalist in diving.

Mexican swimmers attending the World Short Course Championships next week will compete under a neutral banner alongside swimmers from Russia and Belarus. Among the other consequences of not having a federation is the inability to host recognized qualifiers for meets like the World Championships, though it’s unclear if World Aquatics would directly sanction those events.