Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry

Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry

Abbreviation	FESI
Headquarters	Brussels
Region served	International
Official language	English
President	Frank Dassler
Secretary General	Jérôme Pero
Website	www.fesi-sport.org

The Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI) is a Brussels-based European independent non-profit association representing the interests of some 1,800 European sporting goods companies before the European Institutions, Sport Governing bodies such as UEFA and other international sport federations or associations. It is also the founder of the House of Sport, in which it (together with nineteen partners) - plays a crucial role in raising awareness on the benefits of sports and physical activity through cross-sectoral cooperation. Note that since 2015 FESI is also an official partner of the European Week of Sport (EWOS).

The association aims to provide opportunities for sporting goods companies to collaborate on non-commercial pre-competitive issues of common interest, monitor legislative initiatives relating to the sporting goods industry at European level, advocate for the sporting goods industry in Brussels, and communicate with European stakeholders about issues such as trade, digital, product compliance, corporate responsibility and sport. FESI is committed to promoting free trade between European Member States and facilitating trade world-wide. FESI is a member of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI).

Structure

Members

FESI represents some 1 800 European sporting goods companies, either directly or indirectly, with a total annual turnover of about 81 billion €:

• Regular Members
  • Industry Suppliers (IS): European-based companies, manufacturing and/or supplying, licensing or franchising branded Sporting Goods to the wholesale or retail trade in Europe and European-based companies who deal at Sporting Goods Retail level may apply for this membership category.
  • National and Regional Sports Industry Federations (“SIF”) : Membership for SIFs may be obtained by national governing bodies of any country in the Geographical Europe, which are duly constituted and recognized under the relevant national law.
• Associated Members:
  • Associated Membership may be granted to an IS with a secondary link to the sporting goods industry but with similar interests and to sporting goods companies which will directly subscribe to FESI in case no NSIF exists in the country where such IS is established, or in case the IS does not subscribe to NSIF, or in case the relevant NSIF does not belong to FESI. This membership may also be granted to other national, European and sectorial federations of companies in sporting goods or in allied fields at the reasonable discretion of FESI Board.
  • Associated Membership may be granted to recognized and reputed bodies, companies, institutions and the like, which organize and run sporting goods trade fairs and to other comparable bodies at the discretion of FESI’s Board.
  • Associated Membership may also be granted to entities providing services to sporting goods companies (i.e. research centers, law and consultancy firms or any other relevant organisations) at the discretion of FESI’s Board.
• Project Members
  • Membership may be granted to companies, federations or relevant entities with an interest in specific ad hoc projects conducted by FESI. Membership status may be granted for a limited or unlimited period of time based on the nature of the project.

Committees

FESI has set up 5 Working Committees covering a wide range of vital EU policy areas:

• Digital: E-commerce, Intellectual property rights, Innovation and wearable technology, Privacy and data protection
• Trade: Customs, Trade preferences, Sustainable development, Intellectual Property Rights
• Product compliance: REACH and other chemicals legislations, Product safety, Standards, Consumer information
• Corporate responsibility: Circular economy, Supply chain - transparency and due diligence, Good practices - industry leadership, Member States initiatives
• Sport: Football, Winter sports, Promotion of physical activity

FESI has also set up an ad hoc Working Committee to deal with Brexit.

Partners

Since its establishment in Brussels, FESI has forged many partnerships with various European initiatives and platforms, supporting the well-being of European citizens. In particular, FESI is one of the first official partners of the European Week of Sport, a European movement created by the European Commission to encourage people in Europe to practice more physical activity.

More recently, FESI also joined All Policies for a Healthy Europe, an intersectoral initiative created ahead of the European elections 2019 in order to ensure that citizen’s health and well-being be a core priority for Europe and a strategic objective for the next Commission.

FESI is also part of SHARE, an alliance for regional development in Europe that seeks to unlock the potential of sport for local and regional development through knowledge exchanges and peer-learning activities, with the support of the European Commission.

Early 2018, FESI struck a Cross Industry Agreement with four other European industry associations to address the release of microplastic in the aquatic environment.

Other institutional expert groups of which FESI is part of:

• Expert group on textile names and labelling
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) working group
• Sustainability Leadership Forum
• Trade Contact Group
• Market Access Advisory Committee
• MoU on sale of counterfeit goods via the internet

History

FESI was created in the early sixties with the aim of achieving free and fair trade in Europe while facilitating trade worldwide. In October 1994, FESI headquarters moved to Brussels, a strategic step which has allowed FESI to increase its lobbying and enhance its impact on European institutions.

In February 2002, during an Extraordinary General Assembly, FESI decided to allow sports manufacturers a direct voting right in its main decision bodies. Sports manufacturers can thus become FESI Regular Members in the same way as FESI's 12 National Federations.

In December 2002, following some months of consultation and negotiation, FESI and FEPI (Federation of the European Play Industry) signed a letter of intent which paved the way for a future collaboration between both organizations.

External links

• fesi-sport.org
• epsi.eu

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