Association of National Olympic Committees

The Association des Comités Nationaux Olympiques was formed in 1965 by Giulio Onesti, then the president of the Italian Olympic Committee, as a method of uniting the various National Olympic Committees (NOCs). Originally entitled the PGA, or Permanent General Assembly of National Olympic Committees, this would allow them a more unified voice to present their concerns to the International Olympic Committee. This union of NOCs greatly displeased then IOC President Avery Brundage. The group was later renamed the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in 1979, and often lists that as its formation date, but is better known by the French name given above. ACNO is currently based in Paris and its president, as of 2015, is Kuwait’s Sheikh Ahmed Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. Formation of the ACNO has been responsible for the foundation of various continental and regional associations of National Olympic Committees.