The International Council of Traditional Sports and Games (ICTSG) is the world's only international organization dedicated entirely to the safeguarding, promotion, and revitalization of traditional sports and games (TSG) as living cultural heritage.

ORIGINS AND FOUNDING The ICTSG was formally established in 2018 following two decades of UNESCO-facilitated consultative processes that began with the 1st Collective Consultation in Paris in 2006. The organization's roots trace back to MINEPS III in 1999, when the international community first called for a coordinated approach to traditional sports preservation. Khalil Ahmed Khan, who served as Secretary-General of the UNESCO Advisory Committee on TSG from 2009 and Chairman from 2017, was elected as ICTSG's founding President at the landmark 4th UNESCO Collective Consultation in Istanbul in 2018.

WHAT ICTSG DOES ICTSG operates through six core functions: 1. DOCUMENTATION: Maintaining the Online Encyclopedia of Traditional Sports and Games, currently cataloguing over 160 disciplines from every region of the world 2. ADVOCACY: Representing TSG communities at the United Nations, UNESCO, and intergovernmental forums 3. GOVERNANCE: Establishing national chapters and continental offices to coordinate preservation efforts locally 4. ELEVATION: Guiding traditional sports through the six-stage SRETS Framework toward international recognition 5. EDUCATION: Developing curricula and youth programs that integrate traditional sports into formal education 6. COMMUNITY: Building a global network of practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and athletes committed to TSG preservation

GLOBAL STRUCTURE ICTSG is headquartered in Hollywood, Florida, USA, with continental and regional offices in: - Kyoto, Japan (Far East & Pacific) - Lahore, Pakistan (South & Central Asia) - Cannes, France (Europe) - West Africa (Dakar & Pan-African hubs)

LEADERSHIP President H.E. Khalil Ahmed Khan leads the organization alongside a global team of Vice Presidents, Regional Coordinators, and an Advisory Committee representing every inhabited continent. Ambassador-at-Large Joel Bouzou, a four-time Olympian and founder of Peace and Sport, brings world-class diplomatic reach to ICTSG's advocacy mission.

THE 2030 VISION ICTSG's strategic roadmap to 2030 targets documentation of 200+ traditional sports, youth programs in 60+ countries, and full institutional recognition of TSG as a distinct category within the global cultural heritage framework.