# International World Games Association

The International World Games Association, abbreviated as IWGA, is an international association, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that organises every four years, beginning in 1981, the multi-sport event called The World Games.

## History

The IWGA was founded on 21 May 1980 in Seoul, South Korea, as World Games Council by 12 international sports federations with a worldwide reach that were not yet part of the Olympic Games. The intention was to increase the popularity of the sports represented by these federations. The IWGA was constituted under Swiss law as a non-governmental and non-profit-making organisation.
In 1984, the World Games Council was renamed as the International World Games Association. Since its creation, the number of member federations has increased to 39 with the most recent admissions being the International Sambo Federation and International Wushu Federation in May 2021.

## Structure

The highest body of the IWGA is the General Meeting. It is chaired by the President. It is composed of representatives from Member Federations, with one vote per federation. General Meetings can be held whenever deemed necessary, but one must be held each year as the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Among other rights, the General Meeting has the power to:
* Approve and amend the Constitution
* Ratify the selection of the Host City of The World Games
* Ratify the selection of the sports, or disciplines of sports, of The World Games
* Establish Committees

## Membership

Federations that intend to become a full member of the IWGA must be part of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF). Since 2014, IOC recognition has become a prerequisite for International Federations to become a Member of the IWGA. Sports that want to be recognised by the IWGA need to have a worldwide significance but actually must not be in the programme of the Olympic Games. Increasingly, international sports federations that take part in the Olympic Games have maintained a presence in the World Games for the disciplines and events that cannot be included in the Olympics, e.g. compound and field archery, acrobatic and aerobic gymnastics.

### Affiliate status

Since 2020, Affiliate Status was introduced for full Members of ASOIF and AIOWF.
Affiliate status is temporary, and only open to those Federations that are not a Member of the IWGA and feature on the programme of the next edition of The World Games or of other sport events that the IWGA organises.

### Member federations

The following international sports federations are members of IWGA.
| Sport | Organisation |
| Aikido | International Aikido Federation |
| Air sports | World Air Sports Federation |
| Archery | World Archery |
| Billiard sports | World Confederation of Billiards Sports |
| Bodybuilding & Fitness | International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness |
| Boules sports | Confédération Mondiale des Sports de Boules |
| Bowling | International Bowling Federation |
| Canoe | International Canoe Federation |
| Casting | International Casting Sport Federation |
| DanceSport | World DanceSport Federation |
| Fistball | International Fistball Association |
| Floorball | International Floorball Federation |
| Flying disc | World Flying Disc Federation |
| Gymnastics | International Gymnastics Federation |
| Handball | International Handball Federation |
| Hockey | International Hockey Federation |
| Ju-Jitsu | Ju-Jitsu International Federation |
| Karate | World Karate Federation |
| Kickboxing | World Association of Kickboxing Organizations |
| Korfball | International Korfball Federation |
| Lacrosse | Federation of International Lacrosse |
| Life saving | International Life Saving Federation |
| Muay Thai | International Federation of Muaythai Amateur |
| Netball | International Netball Federation |
| Orienteering | International Orienteering Federation |
| Powerlifting | International Powerlifting Federation |
| Racquetball | International Racquetball Federation |
| Roller sports | Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports |
| Rugby Union | World Rugby |
| Sambo | International Sambo Federation |
| Softball | World Baseball Softball Confederation |
| Sport Climbing | International Federation of Sport Climbing |
| Squash | World Squash Federation |
| Sumo | International Sumo Federation |
| Surfing | International Surfing Association |
| Tug of War | Tug of War International Federation |
| Underwater sports | Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques |
| Water Ski & Wakeboard | International Water Ski Federation |
| Wushu | International Wushu Federation |