Every year, the British consultancy firm Red Torch publishes a report that portrays the digital impact that International Federations (FIs) of Olympic sports have on social media, certainly less influential than athletes, clubs and leagues; but increasingly focused on developing effective strategies for their fans. The sixth edition of this report, which bears the name of #sportsonsocial, showed that during 2021 FINA was the most engaged Federation on Facebook, but it did not appear in the top ten on Instagram or Twitter. Luca Fassani, digital manager of FINA, explained at the time of publication of these data that FINA was in a process of reform and that digital transformation was one of the main pillars: “I wouldn’t talk about changes, but about new projects that will also have an impact on our social media strategy. We want to collaborate more and better with our athletes, who are at the heart of our content production,” Fassani added.
A few months later, it must be recognized that Fassani gave several clues as to where the FINA reform project was going. The adoption of the name World Aquatics was confirmed by a vote of the 209 member federations at an Extraordinary Congress a few hours before the start of the World Short Pool Championship in Melbourne. It marks the culmination of 18 months of intense organizational transformation, largely guided by a Reform Committee. During this process, World Aquatics has made significant improvements in its governance, including strengthening the athletes’ voice in decision-making and creating an independent Aquatic Integrity Unit.
“More than 70% of the athletes we have spoken to have said that they would like us to change the name of FINA. Many of them couldn’t even say what those letters meant,” said Kuwaiti Husain Al Musallam, president of World Aquatics since mid-2021.
Although all social networks have already changed the username from @fina1908 to @worldaquatics last Monday, the new visual identity will be implemented in the first events of 2023. A new website will be launched in conjunction with the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka scheduled for July 2023, the first World Championship that will fully integrate the new brand identity.
The new name of World Aquatics will be more inclusive with the other disciplines under the agency’s supervision, such as diving, water polo, artistic swimming (formerly synchronized swimming), open water and high-altitude jumps. For several editions, the now former FINA World Championships held every two years have included all six disciplines, so their duration has been extended to two weeks.
The launch of the World Aquatics brand comes after a series of major reforms involving a more modern organization that can lead and serve athletes united by water, with a wider reach and greater commitment to participants and fans.
“Everyone in our community is proud of what FINA achieved in developing our sports. As we look to the future, World Aquatics will see all aquatic athletes united for the first time under one brand. The identity of our organization now focuses on our shared vision: a world united by water, by health, life and sports”, concluded Husain Al-Musallam.
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