Members of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) have today (September 14) approved the final steps in the liquidation of the umbrella organization.
At an extraordinary general assembly (EGA) held in Lausanne, Switzerland, the GAISF members approved the final balance sheet drawn up by liquidators Ernst & Young, the professional services firm.
They also approved the distribution of the liquidation proceeds to the International Federation (IF) umbrella bodies, following the principles agreed by the GAISF members in November last year when they voted to dissolve the organization at an EGA.
Of the remaining assets, 40% will be given to the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), while 20% each will go to the Association of International Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF), the Association of IOC Recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF), and the Alliance of Independent Recognized Members of Sport (AIMS).
At November’s EGA, 70 members voted in favor of dissolving the body and 22 against.
That EGA was called after GAISF president Ivo Ferriani sent out a letter asking for this step to be taken, with IFs to now be given more of a stake in the running of commercial organization SportAccord instead, of which he is also the president.
SportAccord, which has taken on some of the activities of GAISF, is due to approve a new set of statutes in November 2023 at the IF Forum in Lausanne.
These will include a revised governance structure whereby all the IF umbrella bodies (ASOIF, AIOWF, ARISF, and AIMS) will be represented.
The calls for the dissolution were reportedly driven by the International Olympic Committee, leading to the only umbrella body for international sports federations being wound up after 55 years.
The GAISF was founded in 1967 and had 95 members consisting of international sports federations and 20 associate member organizations that managed events closely related to international sports federations.
Under its plans, members of the GAISF will be given more of a stake in the annual SportAccord sport and business summit. The organization previously announced plans to expand its remit and stage a series of multi-sport games over the next few years.
