International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness location of formation Canada
History
In 1946, the IFBB was founded by brothers Ben and Joe Weider in Montreal, Canada, under the name "International Federation of Bodybuilders".  The two founding countries were Canada and the United States. Ben Weider was the first IFBB President.
In 1965 the first IFBB Mr. Olympia was held; the IFBB's first contest. From 1966 to 1970, the Federation experienced rapid growth as  Joe and  Ben Weider promoted  the organization globally. By 1970, the IFBB had directors in more than 50 countries worldwide and the IFBB had its footprint in Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, North America, and South America.On September 4, 1970, the IFBB held its 1st International Congress in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, where a Constitution was adopted and an Executive Council. In 1971 Jim Morris became the first openly gay IFBB professional bodybuilder. Also in 1971, the IFBB became a member of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), now SportAccord. Upon receiving membership, the IFBB became the only official representative of bodybuilding to be recognized by world sport authorities. From the 1980s to his death in 2008, IFBB president Ben Weider petitioned the IOC for inclusion of bodybuilding in the Olympic Games. Although bodybuilding had never been on the Olympic Program, in 1998, the IOC granted the IFBB provisional recognition, which lasted nearly four years, but was withdrawn in 2001.In 2004, the IFBB was renamed the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness but retained the "IFBB" abbreviation. The following year, the IFBB adopted new IFBB Anti-Doping Rules following the World Anti-Doping Code. The IFBB Professional Section was legally split from the IFBB to form the IFBB Professional League, its own legal entity with its own rules and regulations. In turn, the IFBB Constitution became a governing document for the amateur sport only. In 2006, after 60 years, Ben Weider resigned from his role as president and Rafael Santonja from Spain was elected as the new president. The IFBB headquarters were moved to Las Rozas (Madrid), Spain. In 2010, Santonja was reelected for a second term, and in 2014, he was reelected for a third time at the IFBB World Congress in Brasilia.
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