The International Federation of Poker has failed to gain admittance to SportAccord, the organisation for Olympic and non-Olympic governing bodies.
The IFP submitted an application to the 2017 SportAccord Convention which is due to take place in Aarhus, Denmark, in April.
IFP president disappointed by rejection
But while the General Assembly is set to vote on whether to permit new federations to join the organisation, IFP president Patrick Nally has received confirmation that the IFP’s application won’t be considered.
“Naturally it was disappointing to receive such news,” said Nally, “both for me and – more importantly – for players and officials representing our 60 National Federations around the world who have collectively worked very hard, over a number of years, in our quest for SportAccord membership.
“We have always believed that acceptance into the global sports family would assist us in promoting match poker, the team-based, non-gambling variant of the world’s most popular card game, worldwide.
Body keen to enhance SportAccord application
“It is important to state how grateful IFP is for the support we have received from SportAccord president Patrick Baumann, the Membership Commission and the Council to date, and for their promise of continued support as we look to enhance our application.
“I look forward to attending the meeting for SportAccord applicants due to be held in Lausanne later this year and to our application being considered by the membership at a future General Assembly.”
The International Federation of Poker governs sports poker and promotes poker and its Match Poker variation as a skill game and a mind sport.
