The Curaçao boxer Fabian Williams, will together with the Aruban boxer Shaquon Croes and coaches Coregelino Djaoen and Yohan Leon go to Thailand. The final boxing qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games will take place from May 23 to June 3 in the Thai capital Bangkok.
Because Curacao does not have Olympic recognition and no NOC (National Olympic Committee), CuraBox (Curacao Boxing Association) president Edwin Baas has submitted a request to AruBox (Aruba Boxing Association). AruBox president Nigel Nedd has approached the Aruban Olympic Committee COA (Comité Olímpico Arubano). This request concerns making an exception and allowing the Curaçao boxer to box under the Aruban flag during the last Olympic qualifier that will take place.
Why a Curaçao boxer under the Aruban flag?
Many ask this question and do not understand it and that is why Edwin Baas will provide an explanation that goes back in time.
Until 2010, Curacao, together with Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius (Statia), was united as the Netherlands Antilles and there was a National Olympic Committee, called NAOC (Netherlands Antillean Olympic Committee).
In 2010 everything changed. The Netherlands Antilles were administratively abolished. Curaçao therefore continued as a country within the kingdom of The Netherlands. Although the island had become autonomous, it was not independent, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has demanded since 1996. In 1996 the IOC stipulated that only independent countries may have their own national Olympic committee.
When this rule was introduced, the IOC spared semi-independent countries that already had a committee at the time, such as Aruba. The island had left the Antilles administratively in 1986 and continued as a country within the Dutch kingdom. So Aruba kept its Aruban Olympic Committee and Olympic status. Sint Maarten and Curacao cannot claim this and therefore miss out on financial resources, like the international Olympic funds, that comes with it.
Previously, Curaçao athletes Philipine van Aanholt (sailing) and Philip Elhage (shooting) already participated in the Olympic Games under the Aruban flag. So if Fabian goes, he won’t be the first.
Own costs
Only when he qualifies, the Aruban Olympic Committee, will cover costs to go to Paris.
That is why we are urgently looking for funds to enable the trip to Thailand to qualify.
Fabian Williams (born 2003) trains at Supreme Boxing Center and was very successful in the years 2022 and 2023 with very good results. For this reason, Fabian was awarded as best adult male athlete of the year at the elections of FDOK.
Fabian deserves this opportunity given his results, commitment and motivation.
Aruban Shaquon Croes spends the months preceding the qualification in Curacao in preparation. Coregelino Djaoen has proven many times that he can bring boxers to a high level in a short period of time.
We are very grateful to COA and AruBox (with whom we have had a good relationship for decades) for the collaboration and providing the opportunity.
