FIFA JOINS .SPORT AS LAUSANNE 2020 LAUNCHES NEW DOMAIN

World football’s governing body, FIFA, has acquired a .sport domain name portfolio under the programme operated and managed by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).

With 211 national federations and more than 270 million people playing football worldwide, FIFA is one of the biggest and most influential IFs in sport. It is estimated that 3.4 billion people across the globe watched FIFA’s flagship event, the Russia 2018 World Cup earlier this year.

In the crowded and complex world of the internet, the use of a .sport domain gives a greater degree of visibility and searchability and, because of the criteria applied by GAISF, confers approval and membership of an exclusive community.

GAISF is responsible for managing the programme to market, as well as sanctioning and managing the use of .sport. Critically this includes deciding which applicants should be given permission to use the .sport domain.

This is important because one of the key benefits of adopting .sport is that it confers legitimacy and credibility to the user because it meets key criteria established by GAISF.

Possessing a unique and identifiable domain is a symbol of each organisation’s trust, authenticity and visibility within the sports movement, and offers successful applicants a significant brand-building tool with increased commercial opportunities.

GAISF Head of Digital Pierre Germeau said:

FIFA’s decision is a massive boost and a testament to the positive impact of a .sport URL. It underlines that this is the global community every sports organisation want to be part of.

In addition, the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Winter Games has become the latest major sports events organiser to officially migrate to a .sport domain.

Speaking about the new Lausanne 2020 .sport website, Director General Ian Logan said:

Launching Lausanne2020.sport demonstrates our focus on innovation and determination to lead the way. Our new .sport website will make our event easy to follow for fans from all around the world as well as highlighting the importance of the Youth Olympic Games and its place in world sport. Fans will visit the site to catch-up on all the news and updates in the build up to the event and follow all the incredible action throughout the two weeks.

Lausanne2020.sport is now the home for all the latest news, videos and information about the upcoming Games, which will take place from 9 to 22 January 2020.

Since the launch of the .sport initiative in September, when GAISF officially began accepting applications, over 200 organisations have registered for a domain. This includes major events organisers, brands, broadcasters, media outlets as well as IFs.

Applications are still open for all leading sports organisations to register their exclusive domain name. Prospective applicants can find out more information and check the availability of their requested URL at start.sport.

For more information on the .sport initiative, please contact pierre.germeau@gaisf.sport.

The latest IFs to join .sport are:

  • World Chess Federation
  • World Bowling
  • World Baseball and Softball Confederation
  • World Flying Disc Federation
  • Federation International de Savate
  • Federation of International Football Associations
  • International Association of Athletics Federations
  • International Federation of Muaythai Amateur