Anna Arzhanova was elected new president of the International World Games Association -IWGA- during the organisation’s Annual General Meeting, held on 25 April 2026 at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. She will serve the 2026-2030 term and becomes the fourth president in the history of the organisation responsible for administering and promoting The World Games.

The election was decided with 29 votes in favour of Arzhanova, in a session in which all 39 IWGA member federations were represented. The new president succeeds José Perurena López, who had led the association since 2014 and closes a 12-year mandate marked by institutional growth and the international consolidation of The World Games movement.

Anna Arzhanova, fourth president of the IWGA

The new president framed her election as part of a stage of continuity and development for the organisation. “I am deeply honoured to be elected as president of the IWGA,” said Arzhanova, who thanked Perurena for his “outstanding leadership” over the past 12 years. She also underlined that, in today’s international sports landscape, The World Games play an “increasingly important role as both a catalyst and a stepping stone”, helping to strengthen the event’s relevance within the Olympic Movement and global sport. She said the competition must continue to position itself as a distinctive platform for emerging sports, innovation and international collaboration, in coordination with its member federations, athletes and strategic partners. “The future of sport is built through vision, trust and partnership,” she added.

Arzhanova has been a member of the IWGA Executive Committee -ExCo- since 2014 and has built a career closely linked to international sports governance. Since 2013, she has been president of the World Underwater Sports Federation -CMAS-, after serving on its Board of Directors between 2005 and 2013. She has also been vice-president of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations -ARISF- since 2017 and, since 2023, a member of the Executive Committee of SportAccord as the ARISF representative.

A new Executive Committee for the 2026-2030 cycle

The Annual General Meeting also elected the full composition of the new ExCo. Jan Fransoo, from the International Korfball Federation -IKF-, will serve as vice-president; John Liljelund, from the International Floorball Federation -IFF-, will take over as treasurer; and Espen Lund, Nob Rauch, Antonio Pérez Priego and Joachim Thumfart complete the body as elected members. Sandra Sánchez, chair of the Athletes Committee for the 2025-2029 term, will also sit on the Executive Committee, ensuring athlete representation at the highest level of the organisation’s decision-making.

The new team enters the 2026-2030 cycle with an agenda focused on professionalisation, sustainability and increasing value for member federations. The candidacy led by Arzhanova had advocated for a more efficient IWGA, with more clearly defined roles and responsibilities, stronger coordination with international federations and a review of participation, accreditation and resource distribution models. Its work programme also includes the commercial development of The World Games, improvements to the international broadcast model, organisation by sports clusters and support for high-level athletes without sufficient financial backing from their national committees.

José Perurena’s legacy and the future of The World Games

The IWGA membership thanked Perurena for his contribution to the development of The World Games and to the association’s global standing, and awarded him the title of honorary president. The Spanish official congratulated his successor and said the organisation is “in a strong position” to continue growing under its new leadership. The Assembly also recognised the career of Tom Dielen, vice-president since 2023 and ExCo member between 2006 and 2018, who was not re-elected for the new cycle.

The session also included an address by Pierre Ducrey, sports director of the International Olympic Committee -IOC-, who presented the ‘Fit for the Future’ programme and highlighted the relationship between the two organisations: “You have in the IOC a solid partner, an organisation that wants to work closely with you.” The IWGA brings together 39 international federations recognised and supported by the IOC; The World Games 2025 were held in Chengdu, with 4,000 athletes from more than 110 countries, and the 2029 edition will take place in Karlsruhe from 19 to 29 July, 40 years after the German city hosted the event in 1989.