SportAccord 2025 - experienced - exhilarating - productive

CSIT experienced an exhilarating and productive three days end of October at the SportAccord IF Forum für International Federations in Lausanne. CSIT President Bruno Molea, together with Valeria Gherardini (International Project Office) and Secretary-General Wolfgang Burghardt, carried the voice of the CSIT movement into the core of the global sport-governance conversation and left Lausanne with renewed energy, a stronger network and a clear roadmap. Heartfelt thanks to all our colleagues, partners and friends who joined us. Together we are shaping the future of amateur and workers’ sport.

CSIT meets IOC for exchange of views
From the very opening remarks delivered by Kirsty Coventry, the new President of the IOC, who underlined both the necessity of institutional and organisational reform and the launch of a broad consultation process to listen to every stakeholder in the sport ecosystem. The theme of change and renewal was clear. In a key bilateral meeting with the IOC’s Sports Director Pierre Ducrey, Bruno Molea as CSIT president and president of AIOS had the opportunity to present the work of CSIT with all the future prospects for CSIT and its many CSIT member organisations. These conversations alongside numerous institutional contacts and exchanges with federations and organisations open fertile ground for future collaborations.

Beyond the institutional sessions, CSIT took full advantage of the networking opportunities:  Bilateral meetings with international organisations, discussions around collaboration, shared vision-setting and concrete next-steps. These exchanges centred around how international sports organisations, including CSIT, can tackle the big challenges of modern time: digital transformation, widening the fan-base, meaningful youth engagement, gender parity, athlete-centric governance and sustainable relevance.

Experiences and Visions for CSIT
CSIT could take away many experiences and visions for the CSIT community: 1 - Sport organisations must embrace digitalisation and evolving engagement models to broaden appeal and deepen impact. 2 - ⁠Gender equality and women’s sport are not side-issues — they belong centre-stage in our governance, investment and growth strategies. 3 - Athletes must be more than participants — they must be partners in governance, design and delivery of sport ecosystems. 4 - ⁠Events like Milano-Cortina 2026 and major conventions such as SportAccord 2026 in Baku are not just milestones — they are strategic platforms for growth, visibility and collaboration. 5 - ⁠Listening and consultation are foundational: the consultation process launched by the IOC signals a genuine move toward inclusion, and we must engage fully. 6 -  ⁠Renewal of leadership and governance is urgent — the voice of younger generations, fresh leaders and new ways of working must be amplified.

Some Key Themes at the SportAccord IF Form 2025

Governance & Institution Building:
The newly-reconfirmed IOC President emphasised the urgent need to restructure the machinery of sport governance — an agenda that resonates deeply with CSIT’s vision for the future.

Athletes at the Centre:
In the panel “On the record: athletes’ expectations for tomorrow’s IF” we heard direct from athlete-leaders about what they expect from federations and organisations.

Gender Equality & Women’s Sport:
The session “Visibility vs viability: Can women’s sport deliver on its promise?” underscored that visibility alone isn’t enough — real impact requires investment, governance reform and strategic thinking.

The Near Future & Major Games:
The “The near future: Milano-Cortina 2026” presentation offered an essential update from the Milano–Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games organisers, showing how even a major event can adapt to the new global reality.

Staying Relevant Year-Round:
The panel “Mind the Gap: how IFs can stay relevant year-round” challenged federations to go beyond one-off events and build meaningful connections, relevance and value throughout the calendar.

Looking Ahead to Baku 2026:
We were pleased to note that the SportAccord Convention 2026 will be hosted in Baku Azerbaijan and CSIT’s intention is to be present and engaged at the next convention, opening new avenues of collaboration.