Sports Governing Federations & Headquarters

Apex international sports federations establish universal technical rules, organize world championships, and supervise referee accreditation. Switzerland hosts the majority of major international sports bodies, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC, Lausanne), FIFA (Zurich), FIBA (Mies, basketball), World Athletics (Monaco), FIDE (Lausanne, chess), and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS, Lausanne). The International Cricket Council (ICC) relocated its operational headquarters from London to Dubai, UAE, in 2005. In India, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports oversees apex national sports federations, supported by the Sports Authority of India (SAI, established in 1984) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which coordinates representation in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.