December 02, 2022
“Sport teaches us that what matters is never giving up and that after each fall it is important to get up and try again”.
On November 28, 2022, the International Sport Federations recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) convened at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne for the ARISF General Assembly, with keynote addresses given by the IOC Vice President Ser Miang Ng, GAISF President Ivo Ferriani, ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti and IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell.
President Chiulli expressed his gratitude for the confidence and trust that the ARISF Council
received from International Sport Federations, as this represented tangible recognition of the work carried out by its dedicated members during the last year.
In his address to the Assembly Mr. Chiulli stated: “The fundamental values of sport allowed us to react to hard times with positivity, and I would like to commend our international federations and athletes for their admirable commitment. The past years have been particularly challenging. We relied on the unifying power of sport to promote peace and solidarity, because sport is a symbol of unity, integration, cohesion, and peace.” He continued by saying that ” Sport teaches us that what matters is never giving up and that after each fall it is important to get up and try again”.
The President said that the challenge the international community was facing is very delicate because it has gone from being united in trying to win the battle against the pandemic, to the profound divisions that a political war is causing. Mr. Chiulli noted that: “Sport, as an instrument of peace and friendship between peoples, can spread fundamental ideals of fraternity, solidarity, non-violence, tolerance and justice in different geographical, cultural and political contexts”. Saying that: “I am convinced that sport can give a great contribution in transforming society for the better and contribute to building a better world. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all ARISF member federations and to the Council members for your ongoing support and valued collaboration”.
Following the President address, the dissolution of GAISF (Global Association of International Sport Federations) was announced as an agenda item for the GAISF Extraordinary General Assembly on 29th November 2022 with the integration of the main remaining GAISF activities in SportAccord. This proposal came after the GAISF Council meeting in March 2022 where a Task Force was created to analyse in detail the purpose and future of GAISF.
After some extensive work and discussions, the Task Force came to the unanimous conclusion that GAISF should be dissolved. To this end, the GAISF administration had organized dedicated workshops to address any questions and concerns of the Members, where the reasons for the dissolution and the benefits of such a process were explained by the GAISF President, representatives of GAISF Council and the legal Working Group.
Should the GAISF EGA vote favourably for its dissolution, the transfer of its assets to the umbrella organizations would be: ASOIF 42%, AIOWF 18%, ARISF 30%, AIMS 10%. Furthermore, it had been agreed that if the dissolution of GAISF was approved, the structure of the Executive Committee of SportAccord would be amended to include three representatives from ASOIF, two representatives from AIOWF, two from ARISF and one from AIMS. At the ARISF General Assembly a thorough discussion took place regarding the GAISF dissolution. The ARISF Council unanimously supported the proposal on the basis that the opportunities outweighed concerns and agreed that the ARISF strategy for the future should be reviewed accordingly.
