Switzerland and International Sports Bodies?

[Zippy316]

I just recently thought of this, but why are all of the major governing sports bodies headquartered in Switzerland? FIFA, the Olympics, FIBA, IIHF, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:International_sports_bodies_based_in_Switzerlandare all headquartered in Switzerland.

Is there some reason behind that? Something about the government -- like the banking in Switzerland -- that makes it a good country to have headquarters in? Maybe just because it is a convenient central location?

I don't know, but I thought it was interesting.

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[theaub]

Neutral country. Supposed to make it so no one can claim bias/pressure from the hosts in decisions.

Lower tax rates too, but that's more for the corporations than sports bodies (as FIFA/IOC etc are, of course, "non-profit")

 

[kaiser matias]

Like noted, Switzerland is a neutral state not aligned with any world power, so it's home to not just sports federations but global bodies as well. The League of Nations (a predecessor to the UN) was hosted in Geneva, as is several current UN bodies and other international organisations. Likewise Vienna hosts things like this as well because in the Cold War Austria was forced to maintain neutrality between the superpowers.