The World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI), the world authoritative body for the sports industry, has announced a successful closing of 2021 with a positive financial result of just more than CHF 60,000 and new services. Despite another year impacted by the pandemic, the WFSGI has emerged strongly from 2021 and is ready to face 2022.

WFSGI president & CEO Robbert de Kock, together with WFSGI treasurer, Martin Kuenzi, announced that despite the ongoing challenges related to the pandemic, WFSGI managed its finances well by reducing costs where possible and delivering new services, adding value and support to its members.

WFSGI has been granted observer status in the meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and of the Unions administered by WIPO. Both organisations have agreed to organise a joint webinar on services offered by WIPO and how they could benefit WFSGI members, WFSGI said in a press release.

The World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI), the world authoritative body for the sports industry, has announced a successful closing of 2021 with a positive financial result of just more than CHF 60,000 and new services. Despite another year impacted by the pandemic, the WFSGI has emerged strongly from 2021 and is ready to face 2022.

In 20021, the federation welcomed new staff, new members, added a new start-up membership category and welcomed new partners like WFSGI: RecallDesk, Siemens and Xener by ATEX Industries.

The WFSGI has also recognised the need to evolve its service offering during the pandemic and as a result of trends emerging from 2021, the WFSGI introduced new and improved services in the following areas: WFSGI & McKinsey Partnership; International Sports Organizations Activities such as Uniform Support Programme and WFSGI Athletics Committee; and Sustainability Activities such as WFSGI Commitment to Climate Action, Centre for Sport and Human Rights and FIFA Quality Programme.

The WFSGI was also involved in Legal Committee Activities such as ‘Horizon Scanning’ Legal Tracker, Digitization of Product Information working group’s first position paper and WIPO.

In 2021, WFSGI was actively involved in the following trade topics: (i) Indonesian Apparel Safeguard Investigation, (ii) Russian Mandatory Labelling Requirement, (iii) Indian Mandatory Marking of Footwear, (iv) Kazakh Mandatory Labelling Requirement. In addition, the WFSGI has submitted a letter drafted by APICE to different missions to the WTO regarding the Brazilian sunset review investigation on anti-dumping duties on footwear imports from China.

Although most of the WFSGI meetings have been virtual, the WFSGI was able to hold its first in-person event since the start of the pandemic, in September 2021 in Munich, Germany, World Cycling Forum 2021: Capitalising on the Current Bike Boom. The WFSGI hopes that the situation is stabilising and will allow for more in -person meetings and events in 2022.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)