Sports governing body

International sports federations are non-governmental non-profit organizations for a given sport (or a group of similar sport disciplines, such as aquatics or skiing) and administers its sport at the highest level.[1] These federations work to create a common set of rules, promote their sport, and organize international competitions. International sports federations represent their sport at the Olympic level where applicable.

About 30 international sport federations are located in Switzerland, with about 20 or so in the Lausanne area, where the International Olympic Committee is located.[1]

International federations are typically organized with legislative and executive branches at the top. The Legislative body is usually referred to as a Congress or General Assembly of the international federation and is responsible for defining its sports policies. It consists of all of the national federations, each of which receives one vote. On the other hand, the executive branch, which is often referred to as the Council or Executive Committee, consists of elected members by the legislative branch and is responsible for directing, managing, and representing their federation.[1]

Trusts are organizations or groups that have control over the money that will be used to help someone else, such as the Youth Sport Trust.

National governing bodies have the same objectives as those of an international federation, but within the scope of one country, or even part of a country, as the name implies. They support local clubs and are often responsible for national teams. National Olympic Committees and National Paralympic Committees are both a type of National Federation, as they are responsible for a country's participation in the Olympic Games and in the Paralympic Games respectively. However, a national governing body (NGB) can be different from a national federation due to government recognition requirements.[2] Also, national governing bodies can be a supraorganization representing a range of unrelated organizations operating in a particular sport as evident in the example of the Northern Ireland Federation of Sub-Aqua Clubs.

Multi-sport event organizers are responsible for the organization of an event that includes more than one sport. The best-known example is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the organizer of the modern Olympic Games. General sports organizations are responsible for sports-related topics, usually for a certain group, such as the Catholic or Jewish sports groups. General sports organizations can also exist for the army[3] and other groups, but they usually are medium-sized, as they do not have that much of a budget to work with.

Professional sports leagues are usually the highest level of play in sport, specifically if they consist of the best players around the world in a certain sport. Because of this, they usually work with national or international federations, but there is usually a separation between the different federations. Most North American professional leagues usually do not have amateur divisions, as the amateur divisions are mostly run in separate leagues. Also, most professional leagues are related to other leagues, as players usually attempt to play in the league with the highest level of play. Because of this, promotion and relegation can occur; or, in league systems without promotion and relegation, clubs in professional leagues can have a team in the minor leagues. This enables them to shuffle players who are not doing well to the minor leagues, which will inspire them to contribute more to the team by playing better.