This year’s IF (International Federation) Forum – SportAccord’s annual in-person event ‘For the IFs by the IFs’ is less than two months away, taking place 21 to 23 October in Lausanne, Switzerland.
With this year’s focus on “Ensuring your IF is match fit and future-ready”, here are the top three things to know about our 2024 edition:
Key sessions and speakers
The IF Forum 2024 will delve into key challenges IFs are currently facing as we move through 2024-2025:
- AI’s Impact on IF operations will feature, amongst others, Ilario Corna (International Olympic Committee – IOC Chief Technology and Information Officer), Mota Elb (N3XT SPORTS CIO), and Alain Zobrist (CEO of Swiss Timing Ltd).
- Pressures on IFs: Balancing increasingly complex stakeholder demands, such as safeguarding, sustainability, diversity, and inclusion, with the pressure of declining revenue security. Panellists include Sabrina Ibáñez (Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) Secretary General), Antony Scanlon (Chair of ASOIF Commercial Advisory Group) and Beau Welling (World Curling President).
- A robust anti-doping system in 2024 and beyond: with a presentation from Witold Bańka (World Anti-Doping Agency President) and contributions by Emma Terho (International Olympic Committee – IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair and World Anti-Doping Agency Athlete Council Member) on the subsequent discussion panel.
- Growing participation and tackling physical inactivity: delving into these issues with panellists Emma P. (Mason) Zwiebler (CEO of WFSGI) and Prof. Yannis Pitsiladis (Head of the Department of Sport, Physical Education and Health Hong Kong Baptist University)
- Athlete health: A focus on mental, emotional, and physical well-being, with Margo Mountjoy (World Anti-Doping Agency Deputy Foundation Board Member) and Sarah Fussek (Integrity Director at FIS).
Martin Gibbs, Managing Director of SportAccord, said: “We’re excited to welcome everyone back to the Olympic Museum. We’re working hard to build sessions that are relevant to our IFs, sharing best practices in the true spirit of ‘For the IFs, by the IFs’. We will look at latest innovations impacting the sports ecosystem including valuable lessons learned from the Paris 2024 Games.”
More speakers will be announced shortly.
A spectacular venue
The IF Forum 2024, an invitation-only event, will be held at the iconic Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Olympic Capital, a venue that embodies the spirit of global sport. Set against the stunning backdrop of Lac Léman and the Alps, the museum provides a unique and inspiring environment for the event.
Strong partner support
The IF Forum enjoys the support of several long-standing partners including Explore Edmonton, Sport Event Denmark, Marsh, and our host city Lausanne Olympic Capital. All of these partners have been involved in the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit in different ways over several years.
We’re looking forward to meeting you at the IF Forum 2024 in Lausanne!