They might have been among organisations to complain about aspects of ICANN’s plan to introduce new top level domains, but the International Olympic Committee is part of a group that is applying for the .sport top level domain utilising services of the CORE Internet Council of Registrars.

The decision was taken as a result of a mandate taken from the members of SportAccord, which consists of 90 International Sports Federations and 15 sports organisations and with the support from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and the Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF). SportAccord selected CORE as their partner to provide the technical and administrative platform for the registry operation with the ultimate objective to protect Sports’ values and the interests of the Sports Movement and stakeholders.

“We are extremely happy to appoint CORE to apply and operate the future .sport domain name” says Vincent Gaillard, Director General of SportAccord, “we were looking for a partner that fully understands and endorses the values, culture and principles of Sport, and we are convinced that with CORE, we have found exactly the right partner”.

Consistent with its role as the umbrella organization for Olympic and non-Olympic sports as well as organisers of sporting events, SportAccord will be the Registry Operator of the .sport top-level domain, working in consultation with all community stakeholders.

“It is a privilege to be able to contribute to a TLD led by the Sport Community.” says Amadeu Abril i Abril, Chief Policy Adviser at CORE. “The purpose of the CORE Association has always been to create TLDs in the public trust. The community-based focus of the .sport TLD is the best way to maximize its value for the cause of Sport while avoiding negative externalities.”

SportAccord has already started the process of setting up a Governing body for .sport so as to achieve effective community-based policy development. The Governing Council will be composed of representatives of Sport governing authorities (International Federations and IOC representatives) and Sport community representatives for athletes, sponsors, amateurs, fans and youth.

As a consequence it is intended the .sport TLD will truly be led by the Sports world and developed around the values, culture and principles of Sport.