The International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB) is an international professional sports governing body for

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the practice of Resistance training, progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's skeletal muscle, muscles via muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to a ...

and fitness. Headquartered in

Las Rozas de Madrid Las Rozas de Madrid (, or simply, Las Rozas ) is a municipality in the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain, with an area of 59 km² (22¾ sq. mi.). The municipality is served by three Renfe railway stations– Las Rozas, Pinar de Las ...

, it oversees many of the sport's major international events, notably the World and Continental Championships.IFBB.com About The IFBB
"About The IFBB"
Retrieved on 20 November 2015.IFBB Constitution
"IFBB Constitution March 2015"
Retrieved on 20 November 2015.

History

In 1946, the IFBB was founded by brothers

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett, Benson or Ebenezer, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben meaning "son of" is also found in Arabic as ''Ben'' (dialectal Arabic) or ''bin ...

and

Joe Weider Josef Weider (; November 29, 1919 – March 23, 2013) was a Canadian bodybuilder and entrepreneur who co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) alongside his brother Ben Weider. He was also the creator of Mr. Olympia, Ms. Ol ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada, under the name "International Federation of Bodybuilders". The two founding countries were

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Ben Weider was the first IFBB President. In 1965 the first IFBB Mr. Olympia was held; the IFBB's first contest. From 1966 to 1970, the Federation experienced rapid growth as Joe and Ben Weider promoted the organization globally. By 1970, the IFBB had directors in more than 50 countries worldwide and the IFBB had its footprint in Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, North America, and South America.IFBBPro.co
"Congress History"
Retrieved 26 November 2015. On September 4, 1970, the IFBB held its 1st International Congress in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, where a Constitution was adopted and an Executive Council. In 1971 Jim Morris became the first openly gay IFBB professional bodybuilder. Also in 1971, the IFBB became a member of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), now

SportAccord SportAccord is a global sports event organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, that is governed by stakeholders representing the Olympic and non-Olympic International Federations and has currently taken on some of the activities of the dissolve ...

. Upon receiving membership, the IFBB became the only official representative of bodybuilding to be recognized by world sport authorities. From the 1980s to his death in 2008, IFBB president Ben Weider petitioned the IOC for inclusion of bodybuilding in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

.IFBBPro.co
"Anti-Doping History"
Retrieved on 24 November 2015. Although bodybuilding had never been on the Olympic Program, in 1998, the IOC granted the IFBB provisional recognition, which lasted nearly four years, but was withdrawn in 2001.SportSci.or

Retrieved on 27 November 2015.Rbimba.It ww.rbimba.lt/faktai/congress2001.htm "2001 Congress"Retrieved 27 November 2015. In 2004, the IFBB was renamed the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness but retained the "IFBB" abbreviation. The following year, the IFBB adopted new IFBB Anti-Doping Rules following the

World Anti-Doping Code The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; , AMA) is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against d ...

. The IFBB Professional Section was legally split from the IFBB to form the

IFBB Professional League The International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness Professional League (IFBB Pro League) is the largest international Professional sports, professional sports governing body in the world for professional bodybuilding, physique, fitness, figur ...

, its own legal entity with its own rules and regulations. In turn, the IFBB Constitution became a governing document for the amateur sport only. In 2006, after 60 years, Ben Weider resigned from his role as president and Rafael Santonja from Spain was elected as the new president. The IFBB headquarters were moved to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. In 2010, Santonja was reelected for a second term, and in 2014, he was reelected for a third time at the IFBB World Congress in

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

Name Change

At some point the name has changed from International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness to the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation, this possibly occurred when the split between the

/ IFBB Amateur League in 2017 to distinguish the now two separate entities but both wanting to retain the IFBB abbreviation.

Organization

The IFBB is registered under Spanish law as a nonprofit legal entity. The IFBB has a constitution, technical rules, anti-doping rules, and democratically elected executive council with four-year terms. The IFBB meets annually at its International Congress, held in conjunction with the Men's World Bodybuilding Championships. The IFBB is a founding member of the

International World Games Association The International World Games Association, abbreviated as IWGA, is an international association, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that organises every four years, beginning in 1981, the multi-sport event called The World ...

(IWGA) and also a member of the

International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education The International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (international abbreviations: ICSSPE - International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education; CIEPSS - Conseil International pour l'Education Physique et la Science du Sport) ...

(ICSSPE), the International Pierre de Coubertin Committee, and the International Council of Coach Education (ICCE). The IFBB is recognized by the

Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a sports governing body, governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. Talal Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was elected as President of the OCA on 8 July 2023. However, on 3 ...

(OCA), the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa, the Association of Pan-American Sport Federations (ACODEPA). The IFBB is also recognized by some 90 National Olympic Committees. The IFBB participates in several Regional Games recognized by the IOC including the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

, the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

, the

South American Games The South American Games (also known as ODESUR Games; Spanish: ''Juegos Suramericanos''; Portuguese: ''Jogos Sul-Americanos''), formerly the Southern Cross Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Cruz del Sur'') is a regional multi-sport event held between nat ...

, the

Asian Beach Games The Asian Beach Games, also known as ABG, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia. The Games are described as the second or third largest Asian m ...

, the Arab Games, the

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continent, continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 South Pacific Games, 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently i ...

, the

African Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

, and the

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

. The IFBB has also participated at the

Central American Games The Central American Games () are a multi-sport regional championships event, held quadrennial (every 4 years), typically in the first year after Summer Olympics. The Games are open for member federations of the Central American Sports Organ ...

Members

The IFBB affiliates over 190 National Federations which may also form Continental/Regional Federations.

Competitions

The IFBB annually holds more than 2,500 competitions at the local, national, regional, continental, and World Championships levels. Competitions are held for the various sports disciplines the IFBB has recognized, many of which are organized with juniors, seniors, and masters divisions.IFBB.co
"General Rules 2014"
Retrieved 26 November 2015. Some notable IFBB contests include the IFBB Men's World Bodybuilding Championships, the IFBB Men's World Classic Bodybuilding Championships, the IFBB Men's World Physique Championships, the IFBB World Fitness Championships, and the

Arnold Classic The International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Professional League, IFBB Pro Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding (''Arn ...

References

External links

* {{International Sports Federations 1966 establishments in Quebec 2007 establishments in Spain Bodybuilding competitions Bodybuilding organizations Sports organizations established in 1966

History

Name Change

Organization

Members

Competitions

See also

References

External links