The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has granted its patronage to the World Sport for All Congress since 1986. Since 1994, the Congress is also patronised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and since 1996, by the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) which have both cooperated with the IOC in the organisation of the Congress.
Since the 1998 Barcelona Congress, the IOC has entrusted the organisation of the Congress to a National Olympic Committee (NOC). Those NOCs wishing to host the Congress submit a file in answer to a set of specifications and requirements.
A coordinating committee, responsible for defining the format of the Congress, ensuring the continuity of its aims, and maintaining a high standard of content, is constituted with representatives from all the organising partners.
In cooperation with the local organising committee, the programme committee defines the general format of the programme and the themes, evaluates abstracts of papers and selects speakers.
The 13th World Sport for All Congress will take place in Jyväskylä, Finland, from 14 to 17 June 2010.
The previous Congresses had the following themes:
As soon as they are published, the final documents of these Congresses are available in the library of the Olympic Museum, Lausanne.