Sponsor clash freezes children's charity out of Games

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Former Olympian Johann Olav Koss and his international charity that promotes sports for disadvantaged children are feeling a bit shut out of the Vancouver Winter Games.

Right To Play has had a official presence at every Olympic Games since its inception ahead of the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway but it does not have one at this year's event because of sponsorship conflicts.

"It's a setback for me as an Olympian. We've worked with the Olympic movement for all these years (yet) we could not find a solution to that," said Koss, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and Norwegian speedskating great.

One of Right to Play's key sponsors is Mitsubishi Motors while rival car maker General Motors is an official Olympic sponsor, which gives it exclusive rights to promote itself as being associated with the Games.

Koss said Olympic officials informed Right To Play more than a year ago it would have to abandon rival sponsors such as Mitsubishi for up to three years if the charity were to be involved in the Vancouver Games.

"We can't do that obviously because we need the funds to run our programmes," said Koss, who is chief executive and president of the charity.

The Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) confirmed Right To Play was excluded due to the sponsorship conflict but declined to elaborate.

The International Olympic Committee said it decided not to renew its partnership last year due to focusing its resources on other programmes related to sport and the development with the United Nations, government agencies and other organizations.

Nevertheless, "Right To Play will remain a recognized organization within the Olympic Movement and thus enjoy the full respect of the IOC for its activities," Emmanuelle Moreau, head of media relations for the IOC, said in an email.

To get around those regulations and keep its sponsors, Right To Play will open its own World Of Play pavilion outside the Vancouver Olympic village on February 12, which coincides with the opening day of the Games.

The pavilion will allow visitors to walk through photo and video displays of the organization's work to improve the lives of children through sport in war-torn and impoverished regions around the world.

It also aims to recruit athletes to its cause at a local Mitsubishi dealership near the official athletes' village in Vancouver, and at a clothing store of another sponsor, Roots Canada, in the mountain resort of Whistler.

"It's such a celebratory moment with the Games, so it's amazing to then have the chance to also think about people who have no chance to even participate in sport," Koss said.

(Reporting Wency Leung, Editing Jon Bramley)