The Hungarian Olympic Committee (HOC) is among the 20 founders of a new global organisation of umpires, which was formed at the Peace Palace in The Hague.
The HOC was represented at the meeting to establish the International Federation for Sports Officials (IFSO) by President Krisztián Kulcsár and secretary general Bálint Vékássy.
It is there that the Board of Directors decided to become a founding member.
The IFSO aspires to be acknowledged by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Global Association of International Sports Federations.
“HOC was invited around half-a-year ago to help create the new organisation,” Vékássy said.
“As there are no financial burdens to bear as founding member, it did not cost HOC any money.”
Vékássy went onto add that there are five National Olympic Committees, including the HOC, among the 20 founding members.
Other founders include sports organisations such as the International Rafting Federation and the International Cycling Union.
Frenchman Patrick Vajda, a former member of the International Fencing Federation Refereeing Commission, was chosen as President of the 12-member Board of Directors.
The management also includes Belgian Rowing Federation President Gwenda Stevens and the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation’s vice-president of legal affairs, Martins Dambergs of Latvia.
England’s Janie Frampton, a former Football Association national referee manager for education and training, is the vice-president, while French ice hockey referee Charlotte Girard is the secretary general and The Netherlands’ Jan Vlasblom is the treasurer.
According to Vékássy, the Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation and The Hague each gave €20,000 (£17,100/$22,700) in initial capital to the IFSO.
Vékássy also expressed his belief that The Hague serves as a symbolic place to found an international organisation, bringing together a family of referees and umpires.
He explained that the organisation puts great emphasis on the inclusion of young referees and umpires, invigorating the recruitment process, while aspiring for gender equality which is shown in the composition of the Board of Directors.
“IFSO should not be imagined as a professional organisation for referees, rather its main aim is to convey knowledge and to educate,” Vékássy said.
A predecessor to the IFSO, l’Association Française du Corps Arbitral Multisports, was founded in France 33 years ago with the inclusion of 12 sports.
Today, every national sporting federation and referees’ association is a member of that organisation.
Vajda, who outlined his ideas to IOC, has been President for eight years.
He thought about elevating the association to a worldwide level after more than three decades of successful operation.
There is also the National Association of Sports Officials in the United States, comprising six sports and operating on a voluntary basis.
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