The International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG) and the Association for Sport and Voluntary Activity of Germany (ASVG) formalised a landmark partnership in August 2025, bringing together two of the world's leading organisations in community sport and traditional games preservation.

A Shared Vision

The partnership centres on a shared conviction: traditional sports and games are among the most powerful tools available for community development, social cohesion, mental health promotion, and intergenerational knowledge transfer. By combining ICTSG's global network spanning over 100 countries with ASVG's expertise in community sport programming and voluntary sector mobilisation, the two organisations aim to scale high-impact programmes across Europe and beyond.

"Sport was always community before it was competition," said an ICTSG spokesperson at the announcement. "This partnership with ASVG exemplifies the kind of institutional collaboration that can move traditional sports from documentation to action."

Key Areas of Collaboration

The ICTSG-ASVG partnership will prioritise four areas: documentation of traditional sports in German-speaking and Central European contexts; integration of TSG into community sport volunteering programmes; advocacy for TSG recognition at the European Union sports policy level; and a joint academic publication series examining TSG through the lenses of public health, cultural identity, and sustainable communities.

Community Impact

Immediately following the announcement, ASVG committed to hosting TSG demonstration events at its member clubs across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Thousands of community sport participants are expected to encounter new traditional sports disciplines through the programme, with a dedicated schools outreach initiative targeting students aged 10–18.

A New Model for TSG Partnerships

The ICTSG-ASVG partnership represents a growing model in which global TSG advocacy organisations partner with national community sport bodies to translate high-level commitments into ground-level action. Similar partnerships have been developed with sports bodies in Japan, Pakistan, Senegal, New Zealand, and Brazil.

ICTSG President Khalil Ahmed Khan welcomed the partnership: "ASVG understands that sport serves people, not the other way around. Together we can ensure that the most human of all games — those born from our communities and passed through our families — find their rightful place in 21st century sport."