FISA resigns as a member of Sportaccord

FISA, today, informed the president of Sportaccord Mr. Marius Vizer that its Executive Committee has decided to resign as a member of Sportaccord with immediate effect.

Following the opening speech of Mr. Vizer, President of Sportaccord, in Sochi, FISA immediately expressed its disagreement with his opinions and the manner in which they were expressed along with 26 other International Federations. The FISA Executive Committee has since been reviewing the situation, monitoring the subsequent developments and discussing the state of the relationship with Sportaccord. The Executive Committee concluded that:

1. Mr. Vizer was out of his area of competence when speaking on issues related to the IOC and the Olympic Games as president of Sportaccord. We believe that the competent organization for Olympic IFs to discuss these issues is the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, an organization specifically created for this purpose.
2. Mr. Vizer claimed to represent the views of the Olympic International Federations while never having consulted with FISA and many other IFs.
3. Differences of opinion or disagreements in the world of sport should be handled with respect and diplomacy, and with constructive criticism when needed.

The FISA Executive Committee therefore decided that FISA could no longer be associated with Sportaccord given these circumstances and felt that a very clear position had to be taken.

Jean- Christophe Rolland, President
Matt Smith, Executive Director

Any inquiries can be directed to:
Matt Smith, Executive Director
FISA
Avenue de Rhodanie 54
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland
Tel. +41 21 617 8373