Abstract des Autors

A diffuse network of institutional and individual actors comprises international sport governance. Amongst them is the General Association of International Sport Federations (GAISF), an umbrella organization under which international sport federations (IFs) are organized. For several decades, GAISF leaders have engaged in power plays with individuals leading the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The GAISF’s history from its foundation in the late 1960s to the early 2000s highlights the roles of individual leaders in shaping and blocking joint initiatives between the two organizations. An important role is played the presidents of the International Association of Athletics’ Federations (IAAF) due to their influential role in opposing GAISF. Due to personal interests, GAISF was disorganized and at times dysfunctional, wrought with disagreements on topics ranging from global politics to accusations of individual favouritism. This eventually led to the formation of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and its winter counterpart, the Association of Winter Olympic International Federations (AWOIF).