On 3rd February, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem chaired the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) and the World Council for Automobile Mobility and Tourism (WCAMT).
Gathered in digital format, the meetings marked an important milestone, chaired by the President alongside his team: Deputy President for Sport Robert Reid, Deputy President for Automobile Mobility and Tourism Tim Shearman and Senate President Carmelo Sanz de Barros.
In respect of the commitments already made by the President and the strong will expressed by the FIA Members at the 2021 Annual General Assembly (AGA) last December in Paris, governance topics such as transparency and collaboration were at the heart of these World Councils.
As provided for in the FIA Statutes, and following the election of the new World Councils members at the AGA, two major series of decisions were taken:
- The appointment of FIA Commissions’ Presidents and four additional Senate members, guided by the key priorities of ensuring greater diversity and representation of the world’s regions,
- The launch of a new and robust governance process, including a fully independent financial audit of the FIA, and the recruitment of an FIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
These resolutions were adopted by the members of both World Councils, giving the new road map clear legitimacy and strong momentum for the years to come.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “A new era has begun for the FIA, through the creation of a governance framework founded on openness and global diversity. This is a key pillar of our strategy and I warmly thank the World Councils’ Members, who have approved the changes. Responsibility and authority of World Councils, which emanate from our Members, will be increased. A more effective oversight model will be designed, stakeholders’ priorities will be aligned, and a responsibly profitable FIA operation will be ensured. To reach these objectives, the Federation’s governing bodies and administration will work closely together to make the FIA the global voice of motor sport and mobility.”
ELECTION OF FOUR MEMBERS OF THE SENATE
The election of four new members of the Senate by the World Motor Sport Council members was approved. They are added to the eight Senate members already appointed on 17th December 2021 in Paris.
FIA SENATE
| Name | Country | Position |
| Members appointed on 17th December 2021 | ||
| Carmelo SANZ DE BARROS | Spain | President of the Senate |
| Mohammed BEN SULAYEM | UAE | President of the FIA |
| Robert REID | United Kingdom | Deputy President of the FIA (Sport) |
| Timothy SHEARMAN | Canada | Deputy President of the FIA (Mobility) |
| Irina BOKOVA | Bulgaria | Member |
| August MARKL | Germany | Member |
| Elizabeth PERRY | Luxembourg | Member |
| Robert SLOCOMBE | Australia | Member |
| Members appointed on 3rd February 2022 | ||
| Faisal BIN AL-HUSSEIN | Jordan | Member |
| Monica MAILANDER | Italy | Member |
| Carlos SLIM DOMIT | Mexico | Member |
| Guojun ZHAN | China | Member |
FIA COMMISSIONS
The following members were confirmed as Presidents of the Specialised Commissions.
Sporting Commissions
| Commission | Name | Country |
| Rally Commission | TBA | |
| World Rally Championship Commission | Roger ENGSTROM | Sweden |
| Cross-Country Rally Championship Commission | Dimitry MAKHENYA | Kazakhstan |
| GT Commission | Lutz Leif LINDEN | Germany |
| Touring Car Commission | Alan GOW | United Kingdom |
| Hill Climb Commission | Dusan KOBLISEK | Slovakia |
| Historic Motor Sport Commission | John NAYLOR | Ireland |
| Off-Road Commission | Wlodzimierz SZANIAWSKI | Poland |
| Drag Racing Commission | Lars PETTERSSON | Sweden |
| Truck Racing Commission | Manuel VIDAL PERUCHO | Spain |
| Electric and New Energy Championships Commission | Xiaoxu ZHOU | China |
| Circuits Commission | Jorge ABED | Mexico |
| Homologation Regulations Commission | Xavier SCHENE | Belgium |
| Medical Commission | Dr Sean PETHERBRIDGE | United Arab Emirates |
| Land Speed Records Commission | Roger BANOWETZ | United States |
| Safety Commission | Sam MICHAEL | Australia |
| Women in Motorsport Commission | Deborah MAYER | France |
| Volunteers and Officials Commission | Abdulaziz ALTHAWADI | Bahrain |
| Single-Seater Commission | TBA | |
| Endurance Commission | Richard MILLE | France |
| Drivers’ Commission | Felippe MASSA | Brazil |
| CIK – International Karting Commission | Akbar EBRAHIM | India |
| Closed Road Commission | Nicolas KLINGER | France |
| Drifting Commission | Koichi MURATA | Japan |
| Esports Commission | Niroshan PEREIRA | Sri Lanka |
Click here to see the full list of Sporting Commission Members *
Joint Sporting & Mobility Commissions
| Commission | Name | Country |
| Environment and Sustainability Commission | Felipe CALDERON | Mexico |
| Manufacturers’ Commission | Oliver SCHMEROLD | Austria |
| Disability and Accessibility Commission | Nathalie McGLOIN | United Kingdom |
Click here to see the full list of Joint Sporting & Mobility Commission Members *
Mobility Commissions
| Commission | Name | Country |
| Policy Commission ** | Ferry SMITH | Netherlands |
| Services Commission ** | Luis Palma FIGUEIREDO | Portugal |
| International Historical Commission | Giuseppe REDAELLI | Italy |
Click here to see the full list of Mobility Commission Members *
Click here to see the full list of International Historical Commission Members *
* List subject to change after the Governance Review
** The Presidents of the Policy and the Services Commissions remain
ZONES
The World Motor Sport Council has nominated Co-ordinators of the Zones recognised by the FIA.
| Regions | Zones | Co-ordinators | Vice-Presidents |
| Africa | Africa | Rodrigo ROCHA | Rodrigo ROCHA |
| North and South America | NACAM | Daniel COEN | Daniel COEN |
| CODASUR | Fabiana ECCLESTONE | Fabiana ECCLESTONE | |
| Asia-Pacific | Asia | Lung-Nien LEE | Lung-Nien LEE |
| Europe | Benelux | Anna NORDKVIST | Anna NORDKVIST Manuel AVINO ROGER |
| Eurasia | Victor KIRYANOV | ||
| North Europe | Anna NORDKVIST | ||
| Central Europe | Manuel AVINO ROGER | ||
| South-East Europe | Manuel AVINO ROGER | ||
| Middle East | MENA | Abdulla AL KHALIFA | Abdulla AL KHALIFA |
WORLD MOTOR SPORT COUNCIL FULL MEMBERS
The list of the World Motor Sport Council members has been completed with some of the Commissions’ Presidents members by right.
| Mohammed BEN SULAYEM (United Arab Emirates) President of the FIA |
| Robert REID (United Kingdom) Deputy President of the FIA (Sport) |
| Vice-Presidents |
| Abdulla AL KHALIFA (Bahrain) |
| Manuel AVINO (Spain) |
| Daniel COEN (Costa Rica) |
| Fabiana ECCLESTONE (Brazil) |
| Lung-Nien LEE (Singapore) |
| Anna NORDKVIST (Sweden) |
| Rodrigo ROCHA (Mozambique) |
| Titular members |
| HRH Prince Khalid Bin Sultan AL FAISAL AL SAUD (Saudi Arabia) |
| Eric BARRABINO (Monaco) |
| Wayne CHRISTIE (Netherlands) |
| Garry CONNELLY (Australia) |
| Victor KIRYANOV (Russia) |
| Tom KRISTENSEN (Denmark) |
| Andrew MALLALIEU (Barbados) |
| Amina MOHAMED (Kenya) |
| Rado RASPET (Slovenia) |
| David RICHARDS (United Kingdom) |
| George SILBERMANN (United States) |
| Jan STOVICEK (Czech Republic) |
| Serkan YAZICI (Turkey) |
| Tao ZHANG (China) |
| Deborah MAYER (France) President of the Women in Motorsport Commission |
| Stefano DOMENICALI (Italy) Formula 1 |
| Oliver SCHMEROLD (Austria) / Mattia BINOTTO (Italy) President of the FIA Manufacturers’ Commission / or the F1 Commission Delegate |
| Felipe MASSA (Brazil) President of the Drivers’ Commission |
| Akbar EBRAHIM (India) CIK President |
WORLD COUNCIL FOR AUTOMOBILE MOBILITY AND TOURISM FULL MEMBERS
| Mohammed BEN SULAYEM (United Arab Emirates) President of the FIA |
| Tim SHEARMAN, CAA (Canada) Deputy President of the FIA (Automobile Mobility and Tourism) |
| Vice-Presidents of the FIA (Automobile Mobility and Tourism) |
| REGION I : Thomas MØLLER THOMSEN, FDM (Denmark) |
| REGION I Sub Region – African Council for Touring & the Automobile (ACTA) Simon MODISAEMANG, Emergency Assist 991 Netcare (Botswana) |
| REGION I Sub Region – Arab Council of Touring & Automobile Clubs (ACTAC) Essa Hamzah ALFAILAKAWI, KIAC (Kuwait) |
| REGION II : Greig CRAFT, AAV (Vietnam) |
| REGION III : Frank FOTIA, CAA (Canada) |
| REGION IV : Ricardo MORALES RUBIO, ACC (Colombia) |
| Titular members |
| REGION I : Gottfried WANITSCHEK, ÖAMTC (Austria) |
| Didier BOLLECKER, ACA (France) |
| August MARKL, ADAC (Germany) |
| Gyorgyi MILOVUKOVICS, MAK (Hungary) |
| Giuseppe REDAELLI, ACI (Italy) |
| Marga DE JAGER, ANWB (Netherlands) |
| Jorge F. DELGADO MENDOZA, RACE (Spain) |
| Peter GOETSCHI, TCS (Switzerland) |
| REGION II : Michael BRADLEY, AAA (Australia) |
| Govinda Prasad BHATTARA, NASA, (Nepal) |
| Nitin DOSSA, FIAA (India) |
| Rifat SUNGKAR, IMI (Indonesia) |
| Bernard TAY, AAS (Singapore) |
| REGION III : Alvaro OLIVER VENERE, ACD (Dominican Republic) |
| Selwyn PERSAD, TTAA (Trinidad and Tobago) |
| REGION IV : Alejandro QUINTANA HURTADO, ACCHI (Chile) |
| COFINO ORTEGA Pedro Guillermo, ACG (Guatemala) |
| Gorki OBANDO, ANETA (Ecuador) |
FIA UNIVERSITY BOARD MEMBERS
WCAMT Members approved the mobility members to the FIA University Board, on the recommendation of the Programmes Committee.
| Name | Country | Proposed by |
| Ian STONE (Chairman) | Australia | Region II |
| Oliver SCHMEROLD | Austria | Region I |
| Frank FOTIA | Canada | Region III |
| Gabriela GOÑI | Peru | Region IV |
FIA FOUNDING MEMBERS’ CLUB
The WCAMT noted the appointment of Mr Carl Höhner (KNAC), Netherlands, as President of the FIA Founding Members’ Club.
ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKING GROUPS ON CEO RECRUITMENT, GOVERNANCE REVIEW AND FINANCIAL REVIEW
Three Working Groups have been established to assist in the CEO recruitment, Governance and Financial reviews.
Two members of each World Council have been appointed to sit on each of the following Working Groups:
CEO Recruitment Working Group
The objective of the Working Group is to assist the presidential team in determining the key attributes required of a CEO to manage the operational affairs of the Federation.
The aim of this Working Group is to help select an executive search firm, establish a budget and timeframe for the CEO recruitment, and recommend a shortlist of candidates to the World Councils and the Senate.
This Working Group will be chaired by the President of the Senate.
The group will be comprised of the Chair, the Deputy President for Sport, the Deputy President for Automobile Mobility and Tourism and two members from each of the World Councils.
WMSC representatives: Fabiana ECCLESTONE (Brazil) and Rodrigo ROCHA (Mozambique)
WCAMT representatives: Marga de JAGER (Netherlands) and Ricardo MORALES RUBIO (Colombia)
Governance Review Working Group
The objective of the Working Group is to assist the presidential team in its review of current FIA Governance and Structure and to make recommendations for changes going forward.
The aim of this Working Group is to help select a third-party governance consultant, establish a budget and timeframe for the review and recommend any actions to the World Councils and the Senate.
The Working Group will identify the most important issues associated with FIA’s governance structure, prioritize efforts to delve into remedies for these challenges, and develop roadmaps to address these issues.
This Working Group will be chaired by the President of the Senate.
The group will be comprised of the Chair, the Deputy President Sport, the Deputy President Automobile Mobility and Tourism and two members from each of the World Councils.
WMSC representatives: David RICHARDS (United Kingdom) and Jan STOVICEK (Czech Republic)
WCAMT representatives: Peter GOETSCHI (Switzerland) and Didier BOLLECKER (France)
Financial Review Working Group
The objective of the Working Group is to assist the presidential team in its review of current FIA financial practices and to make recommendations for any changes going forward.
The aim of this Working Group is to help select a third-party audit firm, establish a budget and timeframe for the review and recommend any actions to the World Councils and the Senate.
The Working Group will identify the most important issues associated with FIA’s financial practices to determine if there are any changes necessary.
This Working Group will be co-chaired by the Deputy President for Sport and the Deputy President for Automobile Mobility and Tourism.
The group will be comprised of the co-Chairs, President of the Senate and two members from each of the World Councils.
WMSC representatives: Lung-Nien LEE (Singapore) and Rado RASPET (Slovenia)
WCAMT representatives: Alejandro QUINTANA HURTADO (Chile) and Thomas MØLLER THOMSEN (Denmark)
Upcoming World Motor Sport Council Meetings
| Date | Country |
| March 19 (Welcome session on March 18) | Bahrain |
| June 30 | Venue TBC, Part of FIA Conference |
| October 20 | Great Britain |
| December 7 | Venue TBC, Part of FIA Annual General Assembly Week |
Upcoming World Council for Automobile Mobility and Tourism Meetings
| Date | Country |
| March 28 | Paris (hybrid physical/digital format) |
| Week of 27 June | Venue TBC, Part of FIA Conference |
| Week of 5 December | Venue TBC, Part of FIA Annual General Assembly Week |