Switzerland remains centre of global sport – for now

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been headquartered in Lausanne since 1915 Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

Switzerland remains a paradise for international sporting associations despite an unhealthy dose of turmoil during the last decade.

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Around 60 sports federations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and world football authority FIFA, have set up their headquarters in the Alpine state. They are attracted by favourable legal and tax treatment and Switzerland’s reputation for neutrality.

In many ways, they are cousins to several other non-governmental organisations, such as the United Nations departments and the International Committee of the Red Cross who display their neutrality in Switzerland.

But the road has sometimes been bumpy in pristine Switzerland. Both the IOC and FIFA were forced to clean up their acts in the wake of corruption scandals involving kickbacks in the awarding of major events to different countries.

+ Why Switzerland remains at the heart of corruption in sport

“Not only the integrity of sport is at stake, but also the image of Switzerland as a country hosting a large number of international sports federations,” stated a Swiss sports ministry report in 2012. 

These scandals forced Switzerland to tighten laws that now regard high-ranking sporting officials as ‘politically exposed persons’ (PEPs).

The reverberations are still being felt with the former bosses of FIFA and the European football authority UEFA still in the glare of a long-running court case, accused of corruption.

The Swiss legal proceedings show that being the centre of global sport can result in negative side-effects.

Who is in the Swiss-hosted sports squad?

Switzerland’s first signing, the IOC in 1915, remains the star player after all these years, according to Jean-Loup Chappelet, an expert on the management of sports organisations Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration at the University of Lausanne.

The Lausanne-based guardian of the Olympic spirit has attracted a host other sports bodies, from the International Fencing Federation to World Triathlon and European Aquatics.

“The main reason they moved to Lausanne was to be in close proximity to the IOC, which will increase their chances of being named as an official Olympic sport,” Chappelet told SWI swissinfo.ch.

The roster is completed by supporting acts, such as the International Testing Agency that implements anti-doping programmes for federations and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Other big-hitters include FIFA, which moved from Paris to Zurich in 1932 and UEFA, which changed headquarters to Bern in 1959 before relocating to the Swiss town of Nyon.

The Swiss authorities have added further encouragements in the shape of generous tax breaks and applying a light touch in its legal code by designating such entities ‘private associations’ with the freedom to operate independently.

Not all plain sailing

There are some downsides of locating in Switzerland for international sport federations. Staff and accommodation costs are higher in Switzerland than most other countries.

Incurring expenses in Swiss francs while generating income in US dollars can present financial challenges, particularly as the franc has been appreciating against the dollar in recent times.

“Swiss-based federations are trying to keep costs down as much as they can, so they can pass money to grassroots members. But the cost of living in Switzerland is constantly rising,” said Chappelet.

In addition, corruption scandals at the IOC and FIFA forced Switzerland to relent to pressure from the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) by tightening its legal code in 2015.

Sports organisations in Switzerland are now subject to criminal sanctions for bribery and top officials are designated politically exposed persons, which obliges banks to keep a close eye out for suspicious transactions.

However, Chappelet says conditions in Switzerland are still favourable compared to other European countries.

“The Swiss legal system has evolved over the last decade but remains very flexible. There are only 20 legal articles directly covering sport HQs, and many of these are non-compulsory,” he said.

Will the federations stay in Switzerland?

Some federations have shown a desire to spread their wings away from Switzerland in recent years.

+ Will FIFA leave Switzerland or is Infantino bluffing?

FIFA has moved some administrative units to Paris, Miami and Singapore, prompting concerns that it would move away from Zurich completely. But FIFA says it will keep its HQ in Switzerland, arguing that opening offices in different countries simply helps it keep in better touch with different regions around the world.

World Aquatics is in the process of moving from Lausanne to Budapest, keeping only a small footprint in Switzerland. It’s president, Husain Al-Musallam, had argued that Switzerland was too expensive for the cash-strapped federation.

“Once a president decides to move somewhere else, it is very difficult to oppose their will,” said Chappelet. “But moving out of Europe is difficult because the region remains the main global centre of sports administration.”

“This might not last forever, given geopolitical changes [particularly the rising influence of China]. But it’s hard to envisage a wholesale movement of sporting federations in the next 10 years.”

 What does Switzerland stand to lose?

The main intangible benefit for the small Alpine state is the kudos of attracting international federations that wield huge influence, and budgets, around the world. Their decisions to come to Switzerland also boosts Switzerland’s image for neutrality.

But despite levying very few taxes on international sporting federations, Switzerland does also see some more material benefits from hosting such bodies.

A 2021 report from the International Academy for Sports Science and Technology (AISTS) revealed an annual economic bounty of CHF1.68 billion for the host nation each year between 2014 and 2019.

The yield included expenditure by federations and their visitors in Switzerland, some taxes, and also counted an increase in tourism generated by such attractions as the FIFA and Olympic museums. The main beneficiaries have been Lausanne and the canton in which it is located, Vaud.

Edited by Virginie Mangin/dos