Sports Governing Body Abbreviations
37 abbreviations · part of Sports Abbreviations
International federations, continental confederations, national Olympic committees, anti-doping agencies and sanctioning bodies write the rules, ratify records and organize world championships in their sports. Many are known by French initials because they were founded in Paris or Switzerland, which is why FIFA, FIBA and FIDE do not match their English names. Entries give the full original name, the English translation where relevant, the founding date and headquarters, and the competitions each body runs.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AAU | Amateur Athletic Union | US multi-sport organization for amateur and youth athletics, best known today for its summer travel basketball circuit, where college coaches scout high school players. |
| AELTC | All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club | Private members' club in Wimbledon, southwest London, that owns and stages the Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world. |
| AFC | Asian Football Confederation | Soccer confederation for Asia, with 47 member associations stretching from Lebanon to Japan and including Australia since 2006. |
| BCCI | Board of Control for Cricket in India | Cricket's wealthiest national board, running the Indian men's and women's teams and the Indian Premier League. |
| CAF | Confederation of African Football | Africa's soccer governing body, with 54 member associations. |
| CAS | Court of Arbitration for Sport | International tribunal that settles sports disputes through arbitration, including doping appeals, eligibility cases and contract disputes. |
| CONCACAF | Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football | Soccer confederation for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, with 41 member associations including the United States, Mexico and Canada. |
| CONMEBOL | Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (South American Football Confederation) | South America's soccer confederation and the oldest of FIFA's six continental bodies, with 10 member associations including Brazil and Argentina. |
| FA | The Football Association | England's soccer governing body, responsible for the England national teams, the FA Cup, refereeing and the grassroots game. |
| FIA | Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (International Automobile Federation) | Motorsport's world governing body, sanctioning Formula One, the World Rally Championship, the World Endurance Championship and Formula E. |
| FIBA | Fédération Internationale de Basketball (International Basketball Federation) | World governing body of basketball, with more than 210 national federations. |
| FIDE | Fédération Internationale des Échecs (International Chess Federation) | International federation for chess, which organizes the World Championship cycle and the Chess Olympiad, publishes Elo ratings for players and awards titles such as… |
| FIG | Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (International Gymnastics Federation) | Sets the rules of gymnastics through the Code of Points, which assigns difficulty values and deductions, and governs artistic, rhythmic, trampoline, acrobatic, aerobic… |
| FINA | Fédération Internationale de Natation (International Swimming Federation) | Former name of World Aquatics, the international governing body for swimming, diving, artistic swimming, water polo and open-water swimming. |
| FIS | Fédération Internationale de Ski et de Snowboard (International Ski and Snowboard Federation) | Skiing and snowboarding's international federation, covering alpine, cross-country, ski jumping, Nordic combined, freestyle and snowboard. |
| FIVB | Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (International Volleyball Federation) | Volleyball's international federation, covering indoor and beach volleyball. |
| IAAF | International Association of Athletics Federations | Former name of World Athletics, the global governing body for track and field, road running, race walking and cross-country. |
| IBF | International Boxing Federation | One of the four major professional boxing sanctioning bodies, recognizing world champions in men's and women's weight classes. |
| ICC | International Cricket Council | Cricket's global governing body, with 12 full members that play Test matches and more than 90 associate members. |
| IFAB | International Football Association Board | Body that writes and amends soccer's Laws of the Game worldwide, approving changes such as VAR in 2018 and permanent concussion substitutes. |
| IIHF | International Ice Hockey Federation | Organizer of the annual men's and women's ice hockey World Championships, the World Junior Championship and the Olympic tournaments, and the sport's global rule-making… |
| IPC | International Paralympic Committee | Global governing body of the Paralympic movement, which organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, held shortly after the Olympics in the same host city. |
| IRB | International Rugby Board | Former name of World Rugby, the global governing body of rugby union, which runs the Rugby World Cup and the World Rugby Sevens Series and writes the laws of the game. |
| ISU | International Skating Union | Oversees figure skating, speed skating, short-track speed skating and synchronized skating, running the World Championships and the Grand Prix series. |
| ITF | International Tennis Federation | Tennis's world governing body, responsible for the Rules of Tennis, Olympic tennis, the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup team competitions, and the ITF World Tennis… |
| NOC | National Olympic Committee | Body recognized by the IOC in each country or territory to enter athletes in the Olympic Games; there were 206 NOCs as of 2024. |
| OFC | Oceania Football Confederation | Smallest of FIFA's six soccer confederations, with 11 member associations including New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Tahiti. |
| R&A | The R&A | Golf's rule-making body everywhere outside the United States and Mexico, which writes the Rules of Golf with the USGA and organizes the Open Championship, the oldest of… |
| UCI | Union Cycliste Internationale (International Cycling Union) | Cycling's world governing body, covering road racing, track, mountain biking, BMX, cyclo-cross and para-cycling. |
| USADA | United States Anti-Doping Agency | National anti-doping organization for Olympic, Paralympic and Pan American sports in the United States, responsible for testing athletes, managing results and educating… |
| USGA | United States Golf Association | Writes the Rules of Golf jointly with the R&A for the United States and Mexico, and runs the US Open, the US Women's Open and amateur championships such as the US… |
| USOPC | United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee | National Olympic and Paralympic committee of the United States, responsible for entering and supporting Team USA at the Games and overseeing the national governing… |
| USTA | United States Tennis Association | National governing body of tennis in the United States, which owns and runs the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. |
| WADA | World Anti-Doping Agency | Independent agency that sets anti-doping standards across Olympic sports, publishes the annual Prohibited List of substances and methods, and accredits drug-testing… |
| WBA | World Boxing Association | Oldest of boxing's four major sanctioning bodies, recognizing champions in each weight class and publishing rankings. |
| WBC | World Baseball Classic | International baseball tournament for national teams, organized by MLB and the MLB Players Association with the sanction of the WBSC. |
| WBO | World Boxing Organization | Youngest of boxing's four major sanctioning bodies, recognizing world champions and publishing rankings across men's and women's divisions. |