News

16 December 2022

Dissolution of GAISF approved at Extraordinary General Assembly, record attendance of members, next steps clarified

Members of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) voted for the dissolution of the organisation at two GAISF Extraordinary General Assemblies (EGA) held concurrently on 29 November 2022 and organised to the highest standards.

The GAISF EGA saw a record attendance with 93 out of 96 voting members present, with the entire process supervised by a Swiss notary and assisted by LUMI, one of the most reputable and secure voting systems in the world.

The dissolution of GAISF was recommended by the GAISF Council and Members voted in favour of dissolution by 70 votes in favour and 22 votes against, widely exceeding the two thirds majority required.

Over one month prior to the EGA, written explanations were provided to all Members to explain in depth the unanimous recommendation of the GAISF Council. Member Workshops were also held on 1-2 November 2022 to explain in meticulous detail the reasoning behind the recommendation to dissolve and the steps thereafter. These workshops also provided an opportunity for Members to ask questions on the recommendation and dissolution process.

In addition, the SportAccord Executive Committee sent all Members a letter of commitment in which the organisation outlined its commitment to restructuring SportAccord upon the dissolution of GAISF.

During the first EGA, President Ferriani explained that the sole purpose of the meeting was for Members to decide on whether to dissolve GAISF, following the unanimous recommendation of the GAISF Council. Given the significance of the vote, printed materials, including the Letter of Commitment sent from the Executive Committee of SportAccord to all Members, were again provided for all Members at the EGA.

Ahead of the vote on dissolution, President Ferriani opened the floor to questions from both voting and non-voting Members, including the International Orienteering Federation, International Life Saving Federation, International Aikido Federation, International Teqball Federation and International Mind Sports Association. These questions were answered by the GAISF President, GAISF Council and, for any technical questions, GAISF’s legal advisers.

During the second EGA of 29 November 2022, held immediately following the first, the following three items were on the agenda:

  1. The appointment of a liquidator, Ernst & Young.
  2. The principles of distribution of the assets, liabilities, and activities of GAISF.
  3. The amendment of the Statutes of GAISF to allow virtual meetings to be held.

Members voted in favour of the decision to appoint Ernst & Young as the liquidator by 86 votes in favour and four votes against. President Ferriani then outlined the distribution of assets, liabilities and activities, including:

  1. Multi-Sport Games – Contracts and related assets and liabilities pertaining to Multi-Sport Games.
  2. Other Projects – Contracts and related assets and liabilities pertaining to other projects performed by GAISF, including the dot sport initiative; sustainability.sport portal; Sustainability Award; Good governance; GDPR; IPACS and EPAS, would be transferred to SportAccord.
  3. Remaining Assets – After satisfaction of all debts and liabilities, the liquidator would proceed to distribute the assets as follows:
  • ASOIF: 42%
  • AIOWF: 18%
  • ARISF: 30%
  • AIMS: 10%

 

President Ferriani answered questions from the floor and proceeded to the vote. Members approved the principles of distribution of assets, liabilities and activities, with 79 votes in favour and 11 against.

Ahead of the final vote, President Ferriani announced that at the end of the winding-up process, a General Assembly would be needed to approve the final balance sheet, the closing of the winding-up process, and the discharge of the liquidator.

If this were to be held online instead of in-person, a new provision was needed in the Statutes. Therefore, the Council recommended amending the Statutes to allow the Council to call a virtual General Assembly to reduce costs.

Members voted 83 in favour and eight against for the introduction of a new article in the GAISF Statutes to allow for a virtual or hybrid General Assembly to be called in the future.