Confédération Mondiale des Sports de Boules

The Confédération Mondiale des Sports de Boules (CMSB) was founded on 21 December 1985, in Monaco, by three international organizations – the Confederazione Boccistica Internazionale (CBI), representing the sport of bocce; the Fédération Internationale de Boules (FIB), representing boules; and the Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal (FIPJP), representing pétanque and jeu provençal. This confederation would be recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 15 October 1986, in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Despite never achieving full Olympic status, boules was present at the Paris 1900 Olympics, with two exhibition matches. Boules sports would later be contested officially by men and women at the World Games, with pétanque events from 1985 to the present (although the first edition only included a single men’s event, and the 2022 edition only included events for women); boules Lyonnaise continuously since 2001 (although the 2022 edition only included events for women), after appearing as an invitational sport in 1997; and raffa events from 2009-2017. The CMSB would oversee these appearances of boules at the World Games until 2013. After unsuccessful tries to return its sport to the Olympic Games, the CMSB would dissolute in April 2020.