In a significant step towards the promotion of physical activities and all the disciplines featured in The World Games sport programme, the International World Games Association (IWGA) and the French National Olympic and Sport Committee (CNOSF) have officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further develop their overall cooperation before and during The World Games (TWG).

Established through a strategic partnership, this agreement between IWGA and the CNOSF is the first encouraging outcome of the 1st IWGA National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Sports Organisations (NSOs) Meetingheld in Madrid (ESP) in October 2023, which aimed at strengthening the IWGA’s relationships with national sports entities.

This MoU with the French National Olympic Committee outlines key responsibilities for both signing entities. It focuses on leveraging bilateral cooperation to provide increased visibility of the French national athletes through TWG platform, as well as promote the event through the reach of those same athletes.

This MoU reinforces a long-term robust relationship between the IWGA and the CNOSF, which has always proven to be a trustworthy and implicated partner of TWG. With a delegation strength of 167 athletes, France ranked fifth in the final medal tally at TWG Birmingham (USA) in 2022. Altogether the French athletes collected 42 medals (11 gold, 15 silver and 16 bronze).

Within this framework, the CNOSF also agrees to promote TWG widely, and recognises the importance of athletes and officials participating with a multi-sport delegation. The CNOSF undertakes actions to support and assist the French delegation in taking part and attending the event.

Furthermore, both parties commit to cross-promotional efforts in areas such as communication, marketing and broadcasting. The IWGA will also facilitate the attendance of the CNOSF leadership and staff during TWG to enable straightforward operation as and when required.

The MoU was signed by IWGA President José Perurena and CNOSF President David Lappartient on 20 February 2024.

IWGA President José Perurena said: “This partnership consolidates our already existing friendly relationship with the CNOSF. We are very grateful to have reached this milestone agreement which will benefit the entire sports movement, as multi-sport events are a powerful tool to unite and bring people together. Through this MoU, we hope to lay the foundations for strengthening our shared vision and values. We wish to create sustainable grounds for productive cooperation, and we are confident that it will serve as a catalyst for more opportunities for The World Games and our organisation.”

CNOSF President David Lappartient said: “This agreement, which I am delighted to announce, is the culmination of a fruitful collaboration that began at The World Games in Duisburg 2005 and has gone from strength to strength over the years. With this agreement, we confirm our collaboration and our common objective: to promote all sporting disciplines through the attractive and unifying events that are The World Games.”

As the IWGA is in the process of signing MoUs with a number of major NOCs,  Spain was the second partnership agreement passed on 6 March 2024. 

Source: https://www.theworldgames.org/news/The-World-Games-17/Strengthening-relationships-IWGA-and-French-Olympic-Committee-sign-MoU-2510

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