As “Francs Jeux” relays, the city of Lausanne will soon be home to one less sports federation: the International Canoe-Kayak Federation (ICF) has in fact chosen to move its world headquarters to Budapest in Hungary.
The decision was taken during the ICF Annual Congress which began on Thursday and ends this Friday in Antalya, Turkey. The result of the vote is clear: 85.2% of delegates approved this transfer.
Re-elected as president of the ICF for four years, the German Thomas Konietzko, who has led the Federation since 2021, did not hide his satisfaction when he learned of this result, clearer than water in the river. Seine during the last Summer Olympics: “This is a crucial moment for our sport, a new opportunity to further professionalize our sports administration and accelerate our ambitious plans to popularize paddle sports around the world entire. With Hungary’s support, we are well positioned to deliver the next phase of growth for our organization.”
While the ICF is currently based at Avenue de Rhodanie in Lausanne, where it will maintain an administrative presence, it will have its new headquarters in Budapest at the beginning of 2025.
This change of location will result in a tripling of its workforce.
“Francs Jeux” also recalls that “the ICF is not the first international federation of the Olympic movement to leave Lausanne to settle in Budapest. World Aquatics made the same move, also maintaining a presence in Switzerland.”
