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This is a list of international sports federations, each of which serves as a non-governmental governing body for a given sport and administers its sport at a world level, most often crafting rules, promoting the sport to prospective spectators and fans, developing prospective players, and organizing world or continental championships. Some international sports federations, such as World Aquatics and the International Skating Union, may oversee multiple activities referred to in common parlance as separate sports: World Aquatics, for example governs swimming, diving, synchronised swimming, and water polo as separate "disciplines" within the single "sport" of Aquatics.
International sports federations form an integral part of the Olympic and Paralympic movements. Each Olympic sport is represented by its respective international sports federation, which in turn helps administer the events in its respective sport during the Games. For a sport to become an Olympic sport, its international sports federation must be recognized by the International Olympic Committee. [1]
Likewise, an international sports federation must be recognized by the International Paralympic Committee for its sport to become a paralympic sport, though in the latter case, several Paralympic Sports are governed by a dedicated committee of the International Paralympic Committee itself, under the World Para branding, for example track and field athletics for disabled athletes is governed by the IPC itself, under the name "World Para Athletics". Other Paralympic sports are governed within the structure of the able-bodied equivalent: for example, the UCI governs both able-bodied and paralympic cycling.
In May 2023 the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) reached a number of 31 full member international federations and 2 associate member international federations. [2]
However, on 22 June 2023, the IOC decided to withdraw recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA), in accordance with Rule 3.7 of the Olympic Charter (OC), [3] although boxing will continue to be an olympic sport for the 2028 Summer Olympics. [4] This was the first-ever International Federation to be removed from the Olympic Movement by the IOC. [5]
The following are the 30 members of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) [6] [7] [8] which are recognised by the International Olympic Committee:
^ Denotes membership also to The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA). [9]
The following are the 2 current Associate Member International Federations of ASOIF. [8]
Sport | Federation |
---|---|
DanceSport | World DanceSport Federation (WDSF formerly IDSF) |
Baseball, softball (and Baseball5) [13] | World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) [12] |
The following are recognized by the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF):
Sport | Federation |
---|---|
Biathlon | International Biathlon Union (IBU) |
Bobsleigh and skeleton | International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) |
Curling | World Curling Federation (WCF) |
Ice hockey | International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) |
Ice skating (including figure skating, speed skating, and short-track speed skating) | International Skating Union (ISU) |
Luge | Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL) |
Skiing (including Alpine, Nordic combined, cross-country, freestyle, and ski jumping) and snowboarding | International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) |
The following is an Associate Member International Federation [ citation needed ] of AIOWF (representing a sport which is on the Olympic Programme of Milan-Cortina 2026 [14] ).
Sport | Federation |
---|---|
Ski mountaineering | International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF) |
As of April 2024 the Association of the IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF) has 39 member federations. [15] [16]
The following are recognised by the Association of the IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF):
^ Denotes membership also to The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA). [9]
There are 17 international federations recognized by the IPC, while the IPC itself serves as the international federation for six sports. [22] [23] IPC recognises also 4 International Organisations of Sports for the Disabled. And there are another 14 federations which are recognised by the IPC but are not eligible to be IPC members. [24]
On 30 November 2016, the IPC adopted the "World Para" brand for all 10 of the sports that it directly governed at that time. [25] At the 2021 IPC General Assembly, IPC members provided a strong mandate for the IPC to cease acting as the international federation for 10 sports by the end of 2026. [26] Para alpine skiing, Para cross-country, Para snowboard and Para biathlon have been already transferred to FIS and IBU. [26] [27] Currently IPC acts as the international federation for six sports: [28]
International Federations are independent sport federations recognised by the IPC as the sole representative of a Paralympic Sport.
The IPC currently recognises 17 International Federations representing 19 parasports: [24]
Sport | Federation |
---|---|
Wheelchair Fencing, [31] Powerchair Hockey, [32] Frame running, [33] Wheelchair slalom, [34] Frame football [35] | World Abilitysport |
Blind football, [36] Goalball, Para judo [37] | International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) |
For athletes with an intellectual disability | Virtus (formerly Inas) [38] |
Following two years of talks, and relevant decisions by both their General Assemblies, on 1 January 2023, the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) and the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) were merged to form World Abilitysport. [39]
The IPC recognises a number of international sports federations which are not eligible to be IPC members, but contribute to the development of sport opportunities for athletes associated with the Paralympic Movement and have organisational goals that are compatible with the Vision and Mission of the IPC.
The following 14 are IPC-recognised international sport federations: [24]
Federations whose sports are either included in the Olympic Games (ASOIF, AIOWF) or recognized by the IOC (ARISF) are also stakeholders of SportAccord, [40] after the dissolution of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) in 2023. Other stakeholders of SportAccord (non-IOC recognized) compose the Alliance of Independent Recognized Members of Sport (AIMS). [41]
^ Denotes membership also to The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA). [9]
Before the dissolution of GAISF in 2023, other than full members (composing ASOIF, AIOWF, ARISF and AIMS), there have been Associate members of GAISF. [42] After the dissolution of GAISF, the proposal has been for its former associate members to be granted observer status at the SportAccord General Assembly. [43]
Before the dissolution of GAISF in 2023, the GAISF Observer Status could be requested by the Applicants to GAISF Membership interested to obtain support and guidance in their path to fulfil the GAISF Membership Criteria. [44]
^ Denotes membership to The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA). [9]
The international federations listed below are currently not related with GAISF / SportAccord.
The international federations listed below, for the time being, are not related with GAISF / SportAccord, but are among the international members of The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA). [9]
The international federations listed below are currently not related with either with GAISF / SportAccord or with The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA).
Sport | Federation |
---|---|
Bodyboarding | International Bodyboarding Association (IBA) |
Rope Skipping | International Rope Skipping Federation (IRSF), World Jump Rope Federation (WJRF) (merged and formed IJRU) |
Certain sports are currently not governed by international federations, but rather by national associations.
Sport | Federation |
---|---|
American handball | United States Handball Association (USHA) |
Canadian five-pin bowling | Canadian 5 Pin Bowlers Association (C5PBA) |
Gaelic football, Gaelic handball and hurling | Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) |
Greyhound racing | American Greyhound Track Operators Association (AGTOA), Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) |
Horseshoes | National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of America (NHPA) |
Paddleball | National Paddleball Association (NPA) |
Pesäpallo (Finnish baseball) | Suomen Pesäpalloliitto Ry (Finnish Pesäpallo Association) |
Pigeon racing | Royal Pigeon Racing Association (RPRA) |
Rodeo | Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) |
Rounders | Rounders England (formerly National Rounders Association (NRA)), Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) |
Rugby fives | Rugby Fives Association (RFA) |
Shinty | Camanachd Association |
The International Paralympic Committee is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement.
The World Abilitysport Games are a parasports multi-sport event for athletes who use wheelchairs or are amputees. Organized by World Abilitysport, the Games are a successor to the original Stoke Mandeville Games founded in 1948 by Ludwig Guttmann, and the International Stoke Mandeville Games—the first international sporting competition for athletes with disabilities, and the forerunner to the modern Paralympic Games.
The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), formerly the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF), is the international governing body of dancesport and Para dancesport, as recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Olympic sports are sports that are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2024 Summer Olympics included 32 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by an international governing body called an International Federation (IF).
The International Surfing Association (ISA) is the world governing authority for surfing, SUP racing, SUP surfing, para surfing, bodyboarding and all other wave riding activities. The ISA is recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
The International World Games Association, abbreviated as IWGA, is an international association, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that organises every four years, beginning in 1981, the multi-sport event called The World Games.
Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) was the umbrella organisation for all international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international associations. It changed its name to SportAccord from March 2009 to April 2017, when it reverted to its GAISF. It was an international sport organisation with 95 full members and 20 associate members.
The World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS) is the international umbrella organization encompassing the major cue sports, including carom billiards, pool games of several varieties, and snooker.
The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) is a non-profit association of international sports federations that compete in the Summer Olympic Games. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, the same city where the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also headquartered.
The Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF) is an association of winter sports federations recognized by the International Olympic Committee that compete in the Olympic Winter Games.
The Maison du Sport International is an office complex opened in 2006 in Lausanne, Switzerland, via a joint venture between the City of Lausanne, the Canton of Vaud and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was created to entice all the World's sports governing bodies to bring their headquarters to Lausanne, in order to improve their proximity to the headquarters of the IOC, and thus improve communications between these bodies.
The Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation constituted through and recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The ARISF's members are international sports federations recognised by the IOC whose sport is currently not competed in either the Summer or Winter Olympics, though becoming a member of ARISF does not imply or guarantee that the sport will be included in future Olympic Games.
The Confédération Mondiale des Sports de Boules (CMSB) is the international organization, recognized by the International Olympic Committee, which governs the sport of the boules.
The International Federation of Muaythai Associations, or IFMA, called the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur until 27 July 2019, is a sport governing body of amateur and professional Muay Thai and Muay boran consisting of 140 member countries worldwide with 5 continental federations after unification of International Federation of Muaythai Amateur and World Muaythai Council. IFMA is officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF), the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) International World Games Association (IWGA), and Trim and Fitness International Sport for All Association (TAFISA). Muaythai has been included in many official sport programs such as the World Games, World Combat Games, Arafura Games, TAFISA Games, SEA Games, Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Asian Beach Games, Demonstration Sport in the Asian Games.
The International Cheer Union (ICU) is the worldwide sports governing body of cheerleading and was founded in 2004. It is recognized by SportAccord / Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), and is a member of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF). Its membership includes 116 national cheer federations on all continents - reaching over 5 million athletes globally.
Ingmar De Vos is a Belgian professional sports manager serving as the thirteenth and current President of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). Educated in sports management, business administration and international law, he began his career in mainstream politics before working for the Belgian Equestrian Federation and supported that nation's equestrian teams at the Olympics and the FEI World Equestrian Games. He was one of the founders of the European Equestrian Federation and became secretary-general of the FEI in 2011 prior to being elected President of the organisation in 2014.
SportAccord is a global sports event organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, that is governed by stakeholders representing the Olympic and non-Olympic International Federations and has currently taken on some of the activities of the dissolved Global Association of International Sports Federations.
The International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF) is a not-for-profit global organization that has been recognized as an Observer Member by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) as the international governing body for pole sports. It is also a member of The Association for International Sport for All (TAFISA). The IPSF is the umbrella organization for national pole federations and hosts the annual World Pole Championships.
The International Teqball Federation is the governing body for the sport of teqball and para teqball. FITEQ is responsible for the organisation of teqball's major international tournaments, notably the Teqball World Championships.
Raffaele Chiulli is an Italian sports executive who is the president of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), the umbrella organization for all International Sports Federations, SportAccord, the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF) and the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), the International Power Boating Federation.