José Perurena will continue to lead The World Games family for the next three years. At the annual general meeting held on May 3 in Madrid, the delegates of the current member federations approved the 78-year-old as president of the International World Games Association until 2026 by an overwhelming majority (93%). The Spaniard has been leading the IWGA since 2014.
José Perurena thanked the delegates for their trust. He later stated the goal of his third term: “Since the 2017 Wroclaw Games, the IWGA has been going through a transitional period. Together with our Executive Committee, our employees and the support of our 39 member federations, we will complete this process with the Chengdu Games in 2025. My goal was, is and will be to establish the best possible environment for all integrated IWGA sports organizations.” The 12th edition of The World Games will be held in Chengdu, People’s Republic of China, August 7-17, 2025.
The new Vice President of the IWGA is Tom Dielen. The Secretary General of World Archery replaces Max Bishop in this position; Max Bishop did not seek re-election after 17 years in office. José Perurena thanked the outgoing vice-president for his outstanding work and spoke about the coming era. Lukas Hinder from Switzerland, Honorary Lifetime President of the World Dance Sports Federation, remains the Treasurer of the IWGA. Since 1998, he has been looking after the finances of the IWGA.
Delegates in Madrid confirmed that they have become members of the Executive Committee (ExCo): Anna Arzanova (World Underwater Federation), Volker Bernardi (World Federation of Flying Discs) and Jan Fransoo (International Korfball Federation) in their posts. What’s new in ExCo is John Liljelund (International Floorball Federation). Former Executive Council member Antonio Espinos did not seek re-election in Madrid on Wednesday. José Perurena thanked the President of the World Karate Federation for his commitment and contribution to The World Games family.
The term of office of the new Executive Council is limited to three years until 2026. Normally, the Board of Trustees is elected for four years, up to one year after the last edition of The World Games; the next term is only three years, because the current one was extended by one year due to the pandemic. The Games in Birmingham, USA, originally scheduled for 2021, have also had to be postponed for a year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Changing duties before the Olympics seemed inadvisable.
World games is a multi-sport event organized every four years by the International World Games Association, organized with the support of the International Olympic Committee. The 2022 World Games took place in Birmingham, Alabama, USA from July 7-17, 2022. 3,600 athletes from 34 sports and 100 countries participated in the Games. The 12th edition of The World Games will be held in Chengdu, CHN in 2025.
