SportAccord Convention 2014 Wraps Up in Turkey

The 12th annual SportAccord Convention concluded today in Belek/Antalya, pilule Turkey, drugs having attracted 1636 attendees representing 78 nationalities from around the world. An impressive proportion of one fourth of all the delegates to the world sport summit, held from April 6-11 at the Susesi Convention Centre, were newcomers to the event with 410 participants attending the Convention for the first time. 

At the closing press conference today, SportAccord Convention President Marius L. Vizer was joined by  Ne?e Gündo?an, Secretary General of the Turkish National Olympic Committee, and Gian-Franco Kasper, President of the International Ski Federation, who during the Convention was elected President of the Association of the International Olympic Winter Sports Federations, one the core stakeholders in the event. Also present were Vlad Marinescu, Director General of SportAccord, the International Federations’ Union, and SportAccord Convention Managing Director Nis Hatt. 

President Vizer has unveiled ambitious plans for the expansion of SportAccord Convention. In thanking the Turkish hosts and other partners today, he referred to this year’s event as a “transitional” edition. He said that plans to add National Olympic Committees to the delegate list are progressing as part of the effort to increase the “content, complexity and value of the Convention.” 

Mr Hatt announced that SportAccord Convention 2014 hosted 40 official meetings of sporting bodies, as well as “thousands and thousands of side meetings” arranged by participants during the week-long gathering. The Convention was again the focus of high international media interest, with 736 dedicated news stories appearing in 34 countries. 

Three cities are being explored as possible hosts of SportAccord Convention 2015: Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Durban (South Africa) and Sochi (Russia). President Vizer said that a final decision would be made after technical inspections of the three potential locations.

This year’s SportAccord Convention was the first edition of the world sport summit held in Turkey. Belek/Antalya is a developing sports hub which recently hosted the 2013 World Archery Championships. In May, the area will welcome the 2014 Turkish Airlines Ladies Golf Open, which is part of the Ladies European Tour.

Held in a different city every year, SportAccord Convention is a unique opportunity for international sporting leaders to engage with business, and features a dynamic exhibition as well as the annual general meetings of governing bodies of world sport. 

For more Convention information, visit www.sportaccordconvention.com.