World Sport for All (WSFA) has approved amendments to its statutes recognising international federations and international organisations as separate membership categories and granting them voting rights. The decision, adopted during its Executive Council and General Assembly meetings in Antalya, Turkiye, from 30 October to 1 November, forms part of an organisational update that also includes new appointments, the expansion of its network to 140 members and the ratification of the 2027 World Congress in Belgrade.
The reform changes these entities’ participation in the organisation’s decisions, clarifying their place within its membership and recognising their voting rights. According to WSFA, the amendments seek to modernise its operations and bring them closer to the Olympic Movement’s standards and practices. The meetings also reviewed cooperation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other bodies, implementation of the Strategic Plan, development of internal policies, and ongoing and planned projects.
Four additions to the Executive Council
The Executive Council appointed four new co-opted members, following the earlier appointment of Filomena Fortes, an IOC member and president of the Cape Verdean Olympic Committee. They are Belgium’s Gwenda Stevens, president of the International Federation for Sports Officials and vice president of the Belgian Olympic Committee; Julia Govinden, chief executive officer of United Through Sport; Greece’s Dionysios Karakasis, special advisor to the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sport and the Secretariat General of Sport of Greece, as well as national coordinator of the #BEACTIVE Sport for All programme; and Türkiye’s Irfan Kurudirek, president of European Sport For All and general coordinator of the Turkish Sport for All Federation.
The appointments bring together backgrounds in Olympic committees, social organisations, public administration and organisations dedicated to sport for all. They are joined by Cape Verde’s Leonardo Cunha, secretary general of the Social Development Hub and executive director of ACOLOP, who was appointed WSFA Deputy General Secretary. The General Assembly and Executive Council also approved the membership of their respective commissions, completing another part of the structure responsible for developing the organisation’s policies and projects.
Belgrade will bring together the Sport for All movement in 2027
The Antalya meetings ratified arrangements for the 2027 World Sport for All Congress, which will take place in Belgrade, Serbia, from 27 to 30 May. Registration is scheduled to open in early November 2026. The event will bring together representatives of the international Sport for All movement to exchange experiences, analyse challenges and explore opportunities to develop accessible physical activity and sport.
The Congress will provide a forum for sharing the work of a network that, following the approval of new members in Antalya, now comprises 140 members. The expansion of membership thus coincides with a reform that explicitly distinguishes the role of international federations and international organisations within WSFA. These are two different developments: one broadens the organisation’s reach, while the other regulates how its members participate in collective decisions.
3 April will be World Sport for All Day
The General Assembly also approved 3 April as World Sport for All Day, commemorating the establishment of the International Sport for All Federation in 1982. The date will serve as an annual occasion for the organisation to promote participation in physical activity, share the values of Sport for All and raise awareness of the need to facilitate access to sport. The proclamation connects that promotional work with the organisation’s history.
WSFA thanked the Turkish Sport for All Federation for its hospitality and for hosting the meetings. The recognition included a specific acknowledgement of Irfan Kurudirek’s personal contribution to the Antalya gathering, which combined a review of the Strategic Plan and international cooperation projects with the approval of statutory amendments and appointments.
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