The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the latest sport’s governing body to join SIGA’s ranks as full member. The admission of the Lausanne-based international federation was officially formalised during an extraordinary General Assembly, after receiving unanimous approval from the current SIGA members.
The membership process during Sport Integrity Week 2021, when FIDE’s President Arkady Dvorkovich publicly announced the intention to join SIGA, adopt the SIGA Universal Standards on Sport Integrity and go through its independent rating system (SIRVS).
The process was completed this week, with SIGA and FIDE establishing, as the primary purposes of their cooperation, the following non-exhaustive overarching priorities:
- To promote Sport’s positive values, such as solidarity, respect, tolerance, fair play, trust, ethics, and honesty;
- To contribute to achieving integrity and fairness in Sport;
- To enhance integrity, transparency and accountability in Sport;
- To promote healthy and positive lifestyles in and through Sport, preventing unethical and deviant behaviours and risk factors; and
- To support the development of SIGA’s thought leadership initiatives to reform Sport, including the implementation of the SIGA Universal Standards on Sport Integrityand the SIGA Independent Rating and Verification System (SIRVS).
Explaining why joining SIGA is crucial for FIDE, President Arkady Dvorkovich stated:
“Joining such a prestigious sports organisation as a member is an excellent opportunity to improve even further FIDE’s governance. This opportunity is also a challenge: while much progress has been made in recent years, we can make FIDE a more robust organisation under SIGA’s guidance and scrutiny, as they have the highest standards in the industry of sports. We are grateful that our membership has been unanimously approved at the General Assembly, and we will do our utmost to comply with their requirements.”
Speaking on behalf of SIGA, Global CEO Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros commented:
“I am delighted to welcome our newest Member, FIDE, and the entire international Chess family to SIGA’s global community, now stronger and more representative than ever. Chess is clearly at the podium in terms of growth, popularity and global appeal. By joining SIGA as a member and placing good governance and integrity at the top of the agenda, FIDE shows to the world what leadership is all about and how committed they are to ensure the long-term, sustainable and credible development of this fantastic sport. We look forward to a very positive and constructive cooperation and encourage all other international sport governing bodies to follow FIDE’s example.
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ABOUT FIDE
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is the governing body of the sport of chess, and it regulates all international chess competitions. Constituted as a non-governmental institution, it was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a Global Sporting Organization in 1999.
FIDE currently has its headquarters in Lausanne, but it was initially founded in 1924 in Paris under the motto “Gens una Sumus” (Latin for “We are one Family”). It was one of the very first International Sports Federations, alongside the governing bodies of the sports of Football, Cricket, Swimming, and Auto Racing. It is now one of the largest, encompassing 199 countries as affiliate members, in the form of National Chess Federations.
Chess is a truly global sport, with dozens of millions of players on all the continents, and more than 60 million games on average played every day.
ABOUT SIGA
SIGA is the world´s leading organisation for Sports Integrity. Supported by more than 200 international multi-industry supporters, we are creating a whole new landscape for the global sports industry by promoting the implementation of the highest integrity standards and delivering independent global rating and certification for Sport.
Funded by its members, SIGA is the only organisation to bring together all key stakeholder groups – Sport, Government, International Organisations, Global Business and Civil Society – from every region in the world, around one critical, fundamental Cause: to foster greater Integrity throughout Sport.
SIGA is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, as a non for profit association, funded by its members, and comprises of the following continental subsidiaries: SIGA AMERICA, SIGA EUROPE and SIGA LATIN AMERICA.
Click on the hyperlinks for the list of SIGA Members and Committed Supporters and SIGA Partners.
For more information on SIGA, including its vision, mission and reform agenda, please refer to the website: www.siga-sport.com.
To contact SIGA, please email: comms@siga-sport.com.