Other attributes
The process to found World Athletics began in Stockholm, Sweden, on 18 July 1912 soon after the completion of the 1912 Summer Olympics in that city. At that meeting, 27 representatives from 17 national federations agreed to meet at a congress in Berlin, Germany, the following year, overseen by Sigfrid Edström who was to become the fledgling organisation's first president. The 1913 congress formally completed the founding of what was then known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF).
It was headquartered in Stockholm from 1912 to 1946, in London from 1946 to 1993, and thereafter moved to its current location in Monaco.
In 1926, the IAAF created a commission to regulate all ball games which were played by hand, including basketball and handball. Subsequently, the International Amateur Handball Federation was founded in 1928, and the International Basketball Federation was founded in 1932.
Beginning in 1982, the IAAF passed several amendments to its rules to allow athletes to receive compensation for participating in international competitions. However, the organization retained the word amateur in its name until its 2001 congress, at which it changed its name to the International Association of Athletics Federations. In June 2019 the organization chose to rebrand as World Athletics, with a rollout beginning after the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
Following repeated requests, World Athletics became the last body within the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations to make public its financial reports in 2020. It revealed the organisation had revenue of around US$200 million spread over a four-year Olympic cycle, with around a fifth of that revenue coming from Olympic broadcasting rights. The reports showed a deficit in each of the non-Olympic years of 2017 and 2018 of around US$20 million. It also showed heavy dependence on its partnership with Japanese marketing agency Dentsu, which made up half of 2018's revenue. It also highlighted reserves of US$45 million at the end of 2018, which would allow the organisation to remain solvent in the face of delays to the 2020 Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic. World Athletics Day is celebrated on 7 May.
World Athletics is headed by a president. The World Athletics Council has a total of 26 elected members, comprising one president, four vice-presidents (one senior), the presidents of the six area associations, two members of the Athletes' Commission and 13 Council members. Each member of the Council is elected for a four-year period by the World Athletics Congress, a biennial gathering of athletics officials that consists of the Council, Honorary Members, and up to three delegates from each of the national member federations. Chairpersons and member of Committees, which manage specialist portfolios, are also elected by the Congress. There are four committees: the Cross Country Committee, the Race Walking Committee, the Technical Committee, and the Women's Committee. A further three committees were launched in 2019: Development, Governance and Competitions. The governance structure is outlined in the World Athletics Constitution, which may be amended by the Congress.
The World Athletics Council appoints a chief executive officer (CEO), who is focused on improving the coverage of the sport and the organisation's commercial interests. This role was created and merged with the General Secretary role that had existed previously. British former athlete and businessman Jon Ridgeon was appointed to the role in December 2018. Olivier Gers was the first person to officially hold the position in 2016, succeeding the interim CEO/General Secretary Jean Gracia.
In order to give active athletes a voice in the governance of the sport, World Athletics created the Athletes' Commission. Athletes are elected to the commission by other athletes, typically held at the Congress attached to the World Athletics Championships. The commission chairperson and one other athlete of the opposite sex are given voting rights on the Council. The last election was held in October 2019 at the 2019 World Athletics Championships.
Following doping and corruption issues, a Code of Ethics was agreed in 2013 and an Ethics Commission was appointed in 2014. The Council appoints the chairperson from the elected members, and in turn the chairperson appoints a deputy chair. The Ethics Board's scope was limited in 2017 with the creation of the independent Athletics Integrity Unit, headed by Australia's Brett Clothier, to oversee ethical issues and complaints at arm's length.
The International Athletics Foundation is a charity closely associated with World Athletics that engages in projects and programmes to develop the sport. Albert II, Prince of Monaco is the Honorary President and the role of IAF President is held by the World Athletics President. A World Athletics Heritage department was created in 2018 to maintain historic artefacts and display them through a physical gallery in Monaco, a virtual online gallery, and a travelling exhibition. The department also issues World Athletics Heritage Plaques to commemorate locations of historic interest to the sport.
World Athletics has a total of 214 member federations divided into 6 area associations.
AAA – Asian Athletics Association in Asia
CAA – Confederation of African Athletics in Africa
CONSUDATLE – Confederación Sudamericana de Atletismo in South America
EAA – European Athletic Association in Europe
NACAC – North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association in North America
OAA – Oceania Athletics Association in Oceania
Map of world with six area associations
