With over 400 participants expected – including federation leaders, representatives of the International Olympic Committee –IOC–, high-level guests and strategic partners – the forum is set to become a key space for idea exchange and collaboration on the future of international sport.

Lausanne, global capital of sport

The choice of Lausanne as host city for the IF Forum is no coincidence. Since 1915, it has been home to the IOC headquarters and currently hosts nearly 60 International Federations. Through the Lausanne Olympic Capital Foundation, the city promotes a vision of collaboration with academic institutions, start-ups, research centres and specialised service providers.

“The Forum reflects Lausanne’s continued role as a global hub for sport and our commitment to supporting collaboration across the international sports movement,” said Sébastien Griesmar, Director of the Foundation. In this context, the recent election of Kirsty Coventry as the new IOC President marks a “new era for Olympism,” Griesmar added.

A forum to lead through change

The 2025 edition will focus on how International Federations can adapt to global change and lead effectively in an increasingly complex environment. Topics such as geopolitical shifts and accelerating digital transformation will be at the heart of the discussions during the three-day event.

“Lausanne’s mission aligns perfectly with that of the IF Forum: to connect International Federations to a dynamic ecosystem that amplifies their impact,” Griesmar added. The forum offers a unique opportunity to explore shared strategies in response to the evolving challenges of the global sports landscape.

SportAccord: “Lausanne is a meeting point for sport”

For SportAccord, the organiser of the forum, Lausanne represents far more than a geographic base. “Lausanne is more than our home; it is a meeting point for the world of sport,” said Prof. Dr. Uğur Erdener, President of SportAccord. With the Maison du Sport International as a physical anchor, the city connects federations with the leading players in global sport.

The IF Forum 2025 reinforces SportAccord’s role as a platform for dialogue, innovation and leadership among International Federations: “Bringing the community together, driving meaningful dialogue, and helping IFs lead with clarity and confidence,” said Prof. Dr. Uğur Erdener.

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The European Championships will take place from June 14 to 19, followed by the World Championships, which will be held from July 22 to 30 in Tbilisi. The FIE released the list of authorized athletes, including Vitalina Anashchenkova, Yegor Balok, Zlata Shaposhnikova, and Kirill Onishchuk, all members of the Russian national team, who will compete without officially representing their country, in line with current International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations.

A return conditioned by neutrality

Sanctions against Russian athletes began after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, when the IOC recommended international federations exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus. Most organizations, including the FIE, followed this directive. It wasn’t until March 2023 that the IOC partially eased its stance, allowing participation under a neutral flag, a condition that has shaped the slow and gradual return of Russian athletes to the international circuit.

In fencing specifically, the FIE lifted its ban in March 2024 but imposed strict conditions. The recent granting of AIN status reflects an evolution in the federation’s policy, choosing to apply its own criteria, allowing only individual participation under neutral symbols. While the Russian flag and other national elements remain banned, this move represents progress for a historically dominant delegation, like Russia, which shone at Tokyo 2020 with medals in sabre, épée, and foil, and has produced world champions such as Sofya Velikaya and Inna Deriglazova.

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The recent announcements, made following the governing body’s meetings, emphasize not only the inclusion of representatives from emerging curling nations but also a planned transition that ensures continuity and expertise in key roles. These adjustments aim to secure strong leadership as curling continues to grow in popularity worldwide.

NEW APPOINTMENTS

Alison Arthur (England), Lisa Peters (Wales), and PN Raju (India) have been appointed as full members of the Governance Commission, effective immediately. Meanwhile, Teri Palynchuk (Canada) has been named an observer and will assume a full role in 2025, once Amy Nixon’s (Canada) term concludes.

The Commission, led by World Curling Vice President Morten Søgård, is primarily tasked with overseeing and improving governance within the organization. This group ensures that decisions are made transparently, aligned with international best practices, and in support of curling’s development.

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“I come to Paris with great enthusiasm, we are prepared from a sporting point of view, but unfortunately the place is not prepared and we are suffering,” Vizer said in an interview with the AFP agency. “The entire IJF team is on site working with the local team to complete the site, but it should have been ready much sooner,” added the leader, although he did not delve into the details of what would be missing from the site. But that, as he said, “many things are missing in the installation.”

In front of the Eiffel Tower is the Champs-de-Mars Arena, which will first host judo until August 3, and then be the home of Olympic wrestling between the 5th and 9th of the same month. The decision never fully satisfied the IJF, which preferred to occupy Bercy, the traditional place for world judo and its Grand Slams. “It is the temple of judo. We know every corner of Bercy, I don’t understand why judo couldn’t stay there,” said President Vizer.

And despite the IJF’s concern regarding the optimal condition of the venue for judo, there is hope that everything will be in order by the start day. “France is a judo country, one of the best organized nations in judo, with more than a million members, practitioners and followers, and one of the highlights of the Games will be the judo competition, so I hope that everything be resolved,” argued the top leader of the IJF.

THE ABSENCE OF RUSSIAN JUDOCAS

In the interview, President Marius Vizer was also asked about the absence of Russian judokas in the Olympic Games. There was a total of 17 athletes classified for the competition, but only four were authorized by the IOC to participate, so the Russian Federation decided to boycott. “As President of the IJF, I regret that we did not have full participation. When a qualified country is missing, it is always a loss for the Olympic Games. But we can do nothing but respect or at least accept the IOC’s decision,” Vizer lamented.

“We are a sport that has not punished Russian athletes, because punishing innocent people for the wrong or controversial decisions of their leader is not fair,” commented the President of the IJF, while stating that Russia is precisely a country of judo.

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The organization I Trust Sport was the one who carried out this evaluation through a moderated self-assessment questionnaire, which consisted of 60 indicators that cover transparency, integrity, democracy, development and control mechanisms.

Some of the notable findings include the strength of world rowing in key areas such as transparency in decision-making, gender equality, and environmental sustainability, World Rowing actively supports its member federations in various areas, from the development of the sport and coach training to the implementation of human rights principles, covering all continents and the three rowing disciplines: classic, coastal and inland.

Additionally, all critical anti-doping functions are outsourced to the International Testing Agency, an independent third party. Important developments since the last review include the inclusion of the President of the Athletes Commission on the Executive Committee and the development of the World Rowing Education Academy platform.

Jean-Chistophe Rolland, President of World Rowing, said: “World Rowing has a long history of leadership in the world of integrity and governance. Working with a small team and limited resources, we have had to be very specific in our actions, ensuring that what we do has impact. The ASOIF governance review is a useful tool to maintain that focus, question what could be improved and reflect on how to achieve our objectives. As an International Federation, we recognize the need to work with our Member Federations, using our collective experience and the power of associations to grow our sport around the world in a way that is sustainable and responsible.

32 international federations participated in this evaluation and World Rowing becomes the international federation with the highest score among organizations of similar size and income, and in certain indicators it surpasses the scores of much larger organizations.

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