American Football Joins FIA-led Coalition in Global Push to Tackle Online Hate in Sport

PARIS & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body for world motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations globally, has officially welcomed the International Federation of American Football to its United Against Online Abuse coalition.

FIA President and founder of UAOA campaign, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, was pleased to host IFAF President Pierre Trochet during the FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix weekend, where the two leaders participated in a signing ceremony to formalise the American Football Federation’s support for the FIA-led UAOA initiative. Symbolically signed at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to one of the largest franchises in the NFL, the Miami Dolphins, the FIA is delighted to welcome the governing body of one of the most spectated sports in the world to its global coalition.

During their meeting, the Presidents of the FIA and IFAF discussed the global growth of American Football, particularly ahead of flag football’s historic inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games, a sport now played by over 20 million people across 100 countries. As part of their new partnership, IFAF has committed to collaborating with the UAOA coalition by sharing best practices for addressing online harm in sport, actively participating in UAOA’s international conferences and events, and utilising the campaign’s educational resources to strengthen digital resilience among athletes, officials, and the wider American Football community.

The UAOA coalition of sporting federations represents millions of competitors, thousands of officials, and billions of fans. UAOA’s Barometer 2025 report showed that 89% of federations agree that sport’s governing bodies are under increasing pressure to protect athletes from social media abuse, and 72% of respondents support a collaborative, coalition-led approach to tackling online abuse. This new partnership with IFAF furthers will strengthen UAOA’s global reach, enhancing cross-sport collaboration and accelerating the development of coordinated strategies to protect athletes, officials, sport journalists and fans from harm.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA and Founder of UAOA, said:

“It is a great pleasure to welcome IFAF to the United Against Online Abuse coalition. Representing one of the largest sports in the world, we look forward to our collaboration as they share their experiences and we align on best practices to tackle online harm across the global sporting environment.

“UAOA’s continued growth and ongoing support from governments and sporting organisations like IFAF, demonstrates the vital importance of collaboration in addressing this issue. The FIA is proud to lead this united effort to promote respect, safety, and inclusion throughout the sporting world.”

Pierre Trochet, President of the International Federation of American Football, said:

“IFAF is delighted to join the UAOA coalition and support this crucially important global campaign established by the FIA. Online harm has no place in American Football, and we look forward to working the UAOA coalition to develop the strategies and resources required to maintain a healthy sporting environment for all.”

The FIA’s UAOA campaign is a research-led coalition supported by the FIA Foundation. Founded in 2023 the campaign has witnessed rapid growth in recent months and was recently awarded Peace and Sport’s prestigious Coalition for Peace award in recognition of its world-leading efforts building a formidable campaign driving meaningful change.

To date, the UAOA coalition has welcomed endorsements from the Governments of Greece, France, Slovenia, Albania, Australia, Kenya, Costa Rica, Namibia, Rwanda and Georgia, alongside organisations such as ARISF who represent one million athletes, sports federations including FIM that has over 50 World Championships, the International Esports Federation, ASETEK SimSports, Peace and Sport Monaco, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, Clark Hill LLP, Arwen.AI and Dublin City University.

For more information visit: https://unitedagainstonlineabuse.com

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) is the governing body for world motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations globally. It is a non-profit organisation committed to driving innovation and championing safety, sustainability and equality across motor sport and mobility.

Founded in 1904, with offices in Paris, London and Geneva, the FIA brings together 245 Member Organisations across five continents, representing millions of road users, motor sport professionals and volunteers. It develops and enforces regulations for motor sport, including seven FIA World Championships, to ensure worldwide competitions are safe and fair for all.

The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body for the sport of American football and is responsible for all regulatory, competition, performance and development aspects of the game on a global level. Based in Paris, the federation also supports national federations in their development efforts, represents the global game to international partners and provides educational resources to foster the growth of American Football for individuals of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.