SportAccord Presidential Election, April 2011

After a unanimous vote on the 8th April 2011 the incumbent, Hein Verbruugen, was re-elected as the President of SportAccord during the SportAccord General Assembly. President Verbruugen has had a long history with both SportAccord and other international sporting bodies. From 1991 until 2005 he presided over the Union Cycliste Internationale before stepping down as President and taking on the task of the Vice Presidency.

The President has been a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1996 and then during the 2008 Summer Olympics he resigned from the IOC and was subsequent honoured as an honorary member by the IOC and the Dutch Olympic Committee. In 2005 he was honoured with the bestowal of the position of officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau, a Dutch chivalric order created in 1892 to honour those who have earned special merits for society.

He has led SportAccord forward since 2004 (2007 as its official President) and oversaw the relocation of the SportAccord Headquarters to Lausanne and the rebranding of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) into SportAccord. To this end he has driven SportAccord forward towards its objectives of uniting international federations while supporting their respective autonomy and authority.

"I want to thank all the delegates for your confidence and trust placed in me," Verbruggen said after the election. "With your confidence and trust, I will continue to give my commitment to you. Although we have achieved many things, we still have a lot of work to do. I am looking forward to developing new ideas and projects together with you."

At time of writing SportAccord now consists of 105 members that includes IFMA representing Muaythai and SportAccord's newest member, the International Federation Icestocksport (IFI). SportAccord is the umbrella organisation for both Olympic and non-Olympic sports as well as organisers of sporting events. One of the main objectives of the organisation is to unite and support international sporting federations by encouraging and facilitating knowledge sharing and by providing expertise in relevant areas.

SportAccord aims to promote its Members and to increase their visibility by establishing various multi-sports games that group together similar sports and put them on a worldwide stage. In this SportAccord and IFMA are a mutually beneficial partnership that enables both organisations to progress towards their objectives.