In a letter to GAISF’s members, newly-elected President Ivo Ferriani confirmed a motion to dissolve the umbrella body for Olympic and non-Olympic sports would be on the agenda at its General Assembly in May.

Should the move be approved, as is expected at this stage, it would see the GAISF cease to exist after more than half-a-century in operation.

Two GAISF members confirmed to insidethegames that they had received the letter.

"One topic on the agenda that I would already like to bring to your attention is the dissolution of GAISF as already discussed before my arrival as President of GAISF," Ferriani wrote in the letter, seen by insidethegames.

insidethegames understands a five-member taskforce has been created to begin the process, which may alarm the smaller sports and organisations that form the bedrock of the GAISF.

"As with any organisation going through a period of transition, GAISF is considering a range of options for its future," a GAISF spokesperson said.

It is not yet clear what dissolution would mean for the future of GAISF’s events such as the World Combat Games and the World Urban Games, first held in Budapest in 2019.

Saudi Arabia has been awarded the 2023 World Combat Games, last staged in 2013, and meetings between the country and the GAISF to discuss preparations for the event were held less than three weeks ago.

It had been an open secret that plans were afoot to reshape the Olympic Movement and the organisations, like GAISF, which have been part of it for decades.

These have seemingly been accelerated by International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board member Ferriani being elevated to the top job at the GAISF.

The dissolution of the umbrella body would further centralise the power on the IOC, which has privately signalled its opposition to the likes of GAISF holding their own major multi-sport events.

The GAISF was first established in 1967 and its identity - and influence - in the Olympic Movement have varied ever since.

It underwent a minor change in 1976, when there was a slight alteration to General Association of International Sports Federations.

The organisation was a thorn in the side of the IOC and its President Lord Killanin for much of Thomi Keller of Switzerland’s 17-year Presidency, which ran from 1969 to 1986.

Juan Antonio Samaranch sought to reduce the considerable power GAISF yielded at the time he became IOC President in 1980 and succeeded, largely through the formation of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations and Association of International Olympic Winter Federations.

The body remained as the GAISF until 2009, when it rebranded to SportAccord under the Presidency of Hein Verbruggen, which caused confusion due to the similarity in names with the SportAccord Convention.

Perhaps the most infamous episode in GAISF's history came in 2015, when then SportAccord head Marius Vizer launched a scathing attack on the IOC and its President Thomas Bach.

Vizer’s speech at the SportAccord General Assembly in Sochi plunged the organisation crisis and led to mass resignations from the body.

The International Judo Federation President quit barely a month later and was replaced by the late International Basketball Federation secretary general Patrick Baumann.

The GAISF regained some of its prominence under the studious Swiss official until his death at the age of 51 during the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in October 2018.

Raffaele Chiulli took up the role after Baumann's death and he was succeeded by Italian counterpart Ferriani, also President of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, last week.

The GAISF claims to be a "key pillar of the wider sports movement and acts as the voice for its 128 members, associate members and observers, which include both Olympic and non-Olympic sports organisations".