The International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG) is a global, non-governmental organization dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and elevation of traditional sports and games as expressions of living cultural heritage. We are the world's foremost body advocating for traditional sporting cultures at the international level.

Our Identity

We are a global community of traditional sports practitioners, government representatives, academics, and cultural heritage advocates united by a single mission: to ensure that the world's diverse traditional and indigenous sporting traditions are preserved, celebrated, and passed down to future generations.

Founded in 2018 following a two-decade process catalysed by UNESCO, ICTSG is independent, non-profit, and headquartered in Hollywood, Florida, USA. We operate through a network of National Chapters and Regional Bodies that span every inhabited continent, giving voice to traditional sports communities from the Arctic to the tropics.

Our Mission

Our mission is to protect, promote, and develop traditional sports and games worldwide -- recognizing their value as expressions of intangible cultural heritage, instruments of social cohesion, vehicles for intercultural dialogue, and contributions to health and human development.

We pursue this mission through global documentation, policy advocacy, community empowerment, international elevation, and global events including the annual TSG Day on August 14.

Our Values

Heritage: We believe that traditional sports are living bridges connecting past and present, worthy of the same respect and protection as other cultural monuments.

Inclusivity: We serve communities of all sizes and from all world regions. Every traditional sport deserves documentation and protection.

Community Ownership: Traditional sports belong to the communities that created and sustain them. ICTSG's role is to empower communities, not to control or commodify their heritage.

Integrity: We operate transparently and with the highest standards of governance.

Partnership: We believe that protecting cultural heritage requires collaboration across governments, civil society, academia, and international organizations.

Our People

ICTSG is led by President Khalil Ahmed Khan, an attorney-at-law from Pakistan who has championed the global TSG movement since 1999. He is joined by Secretary-General Yves Brown and Ambassador-at-Large Joel Bouzou.

Our Advisory Committee brings together eminent figures from across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Arab World, and the Americas, providing the geographic and cultural breadth needed to represent the full diversity of the world's traditional sporting heritage.

Since its founding, ICTSG has documented over 160 traditional sports and games, established National Chapters in over 50 countries, organized International TSG Day in over 90 countries, and engaged with UNESCO and multiple government ministries to advance TSG policy.