Attila Adamfi, General Secretary of the Federation of International Bandy -FIB-, will lead the working group tasked with reviewing and updating the statutes of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations -ARISF-. The appointment was announced during the association’s General Assembly in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he also represented bandy at the SportAccord Forum, held from Monday to Wednesday.
ARISF President Raffaele Chiulli asked Adamfi to chair the group in recognition of his experience in sports governance and federation administration, according to the FIB announcement. Its task is to review the rules governing the association’s operations.
Adamfi’s experience
Adamfi combines a playing career with two decades of federation responsibilities. He represented Hungary in more than a hundred international matches and captained the national team until his retirement in 2015. He has been FIB Vice-President since 2006 and became General Secretary in 2022, contributing to the organisation’s administrative transformation.
His experience also includes serving as Director General of the International Weightlifting Federation -IWF- and organising Olympic competitions. His new assignment is within an association that represents federations recognised by the International Olympic Committee -IOC- and facilitates their dialogue with the Olympic Movement, although it does not itself decide which sports enter the Games.
Recognition and Olympic ambitions
Bandy is a team sport played on ice using skates, sticks and a ball. FIB gained IOC recognition in 2004, but the sport is not part of the Olympic Winter Games programme. Expanding international participation and pursuing potential Olympic inclusion remain among the federation’s objectives.
In August, Adamfi met Pierre Ducrey, IOC Sports Director, and Tania Tchea, Head of Recognised International Federations. He presented FIB’s reforms and Olympic ambitions, including the possibility of targeting 2034. He also outlined the development of Short Bandy, a format that uses existing ice hockey facilities and allows competitions to be organised without building a dedicated bandy rink.
Meetings at SportAccord
During this week’s forum, Adamfi met representatives of the IOC, the World Anti-Doping Agency -WADA- and other sports organisations. According to FIB, the discussions addressed international relationships, governance and bandy’s visibility. The SportAccord programme included sessions on the future of winter sports and cooperation with host cities, two areas connected to the federation’s venue and competition needs.
Adamfi described the objectives of those meetings: “SportAccord provides an excellent opportunity to strengthen our cooperation with the key organisations of the Olympic Movement and to present the potential of bandy as a dynamic, international winter sport.” He added: “Our meetings in Lausanne were focused on building relationships, improving FIB’s international position and creating further opportunities for the development of our sport.”
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