Federación Internacional de Pelota Vasca

The Federación Internacional de Pelota Vasca (FIPV) was established on 19 May 1929, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with three founding members: Argentina, France, and Spain. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and a member of the Association of the IOC-recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF), with 36 affiliated national federations as of January 2026. The federation’s office is located in Pamplona, Spain, and its current president is Mexico’s Xavier Cazaubon.

Basque pelota has thrice been an Olympic demonstration sport: at Paris 1924, Ciudad de México 1968, and Barcelona 1992. In addition, at the unusual Olympic Games of 1900, a version of pelota can be considered to have been an Olympic sport.

The FIPV oversees Basque pelota competitions in eight different specialties: mano, frontball, frontenis, cesta punta, xare, paleta cuero, pala corta, and paleta goma. The Basque Pelota World Championships have been organized by the FIPV since 1952, when the first edition was held in San Sebastián, Spain. The first women’s discipline at the World Championships would come only at the 1990 edition, staged in Havana, Cuba.