The Vancouver Organizing Committee has said Olympic sponsors provide the foundation for staging the 2010 Winter Games and contribute to every participating athlete. (Vancouver Organizing Committee)

Olympic dollars appear to have triumphed over Olympic ideals in the case of an athletes' charity being banned from an official role at the 2010 Winter Games.

The international organization Right to Play won't be allowed to set up shop in the athletes' village because its sponsors aren't the same as those for the Vancouver Olympics.

The humanitarian group runs programs in developing countries to encourage sport as a tool for peace and skill-building, a mission statement directly in line with the official Olympic goals of building a peaceful world through sport.

"Right to Play has never had these issues before," said Mark Brender, the deputy director of Toronto-based Right to Play Canada, adding the group has always had different sponsors than organizing committees since it started its affiliation with the Games in 1992.

'Our Games rely on about a billion dollars from our sponsors … we can't put that at risk.'— Dave Cobb, Vancouver Organizing Committee

"We don't totally understand what is different," Brender said.

"[The organizing committee] does have obligations with their sponsors and we respect that."

Right to Play and Vancouver organizers have been working together for more than a year to find a way for the group to have the same role in 2010 as it's had in past Games.

Concerns were raised early on about sponsorship conflicts, both sides said.

The problem appears to be the organization now attracting the support of major sponsors who are rivals to 2010 partners.

Dave Cobb, vice-president of marketing for the Vancouver Organizing Committee, says the 2010 Olympic Games rely on about $1B from sponsors. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

In its 2007 annual report, Right to Play lists a handful of donor companies who could be seen as competitors to 2010 sponsors such as Scotiabank (RBC is the 2010 banking sponsor) and Canon Canada (Kodak is a worldwide sponsor of the Games).

Right to Play also recently received a major donation from Mitsubishi, whereas the automotive sponsor in 2010 is General Motors.

"Our Games rely on about a billion dollars from our sponsors to put the Games on, if it doesn't come from our sponsors, it has to come from somewhere else and we can't put that at risk," said Dave Cobb, vice-president of marketing for the organizing committee.

Right to Play was told making significant deals with rival sponsors meant the group couldn't have official access to the Games, both sides said.

"They made the decisions," Cobb said.

It was an easy choice, Brender said.

"As an option between keeping our programs running and financial support that many generous corporations are giving to support our programs versus being in the village, that was really a clear choice for Right to Play as an organization," he said.

"We have an obligation to the children in our programs."

Brender said he doesn't think the organization's work will be affected by not having a berth in the athletes' village and expects Right to Play will still be active in 2010.

Games organizers said they too are hoping to find a way to unofficially support the group.