LAUSANNE: International sports federations have postponed plans to merge their umbrella body with the organisation that runs a major annual industry convention.

The Sport Accord Council, which represents Olympic and non-Olympic sports, decided to put off its planned merger this year with Sport Accord Convention.

The council said it still intends to merge with the convention in the future “but firstly the structure and governance of SportAccord remains the current focus.”

The SportAccord umbrella body was thrown into turmoil last year after its leader, Marius Vizer, criticised the IOC.