The International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) was founded in Berlin, Germany on April 19, 2005 during the GAISF (then General Association of Sport Federations) annual convention.
IMSA membership currently stands at 8: including the 4 founding international federations, World Bridge Federation (WBF), Fédération Mondiale du Jeu de Dames (FMJD), and Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and International Go Federation (IGF),
The World Xiangqi Federation (WXF) was added in 2015, the Mahjong International League (MIL) in 2017, the Federation of Card Games (FCG) in 2018 and International eSports Federation in 2022. The World Poker Federation has also joined IMSA as an Observer.
The goals of IMSA are :
• To unite different mind sports federations to pursue common aims and interests,
• To promote the development of countries citizens through the educational benefits of Mind Sports,
• To organize the World Mind Sports Games under the aegis of the IOC,
• To realize the inclusion of all mind sports in the Olympic movement,
• To assist the admission of the national federations of the member mind sports into their respective National Olympic Committees.
The Association intends to work towards the recognition of the quality of teaching of these disciplines on young people that helps them substantially in their intellectual and emotional growth.
The Association will therefore work in liaison with – in addition to the IOC and SportAccord – all stakeholders who hold common goals, IMSA is convinced of its capacity to improve the level of education in the world, enhance life skills and intelligence and to participate in a more peaceful entente through the practice of these sports.