Association of the IOC-recognized International Sports Federations

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognizes a number of international sports federations whose sports are not yet on the Olympic Programme. This recognition is important, for it is a first step towards getting a sport admitted to the Olympic Programme. As of January 2026, the IOC has recognized the international federations for the following sports (in addition to those on the Olympic Programme): aeronautics (air sports), American football, auto racing, bandy, baseball and softball, billiard sport, boules, bowling, boxing, bridge, cheerleading, chess, cricket, dance sport, floorball, flying disc, karate, ice stock sport, kickboxing, korfball, lacrosse, life saving, motorcycle sport, mountaineering & climbing, muaythai, netball, orienteering, pelota vasca, polo, powerboating, racquetball, sambo, ski mountaineering, squash, sumo, tug-of-war, underwater sports, water skiing and wakeboard, and wushu, and also for university sports.

These IOC-Recognized International Sports Federations have grouped together to form the Association of the IOC-Recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF). They are headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the ARISF currently has 40 member federations, as noted above. The current (2026) president is Raffaele Chiulli, of the Union Internationale Motonautique. The statutes of the ARISF state that its aims are “to determine the consensus of the member federations on questions relating to the Olympic Movement […] and to coordinate and defend the common interest of its members in [that] context.”