Fédération Internationale de Boules (abbreviated FIB) is part of the "Confédération Mondiale des Sports de Boules" which is the highest international authority of bocce

Bocce

Bocce is a ball sport belonging to the boules sport family, closely related to bowls and pétanque with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire...

 sports acknowledged by the International Olympic Committee

International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

. The current FIB president is Alphonse Lagier-Bruno from France.

FIB has 51 member associations on all continents (except Antarctica).

History

The need for a single body to oversee bocce associations became clear shortly after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Spiritual father of FIB is André Mignot started negotiations between French, Swiss and Italian bocce associations. FIB was founded in Ville-la-Grand

Ville-la-Grand

Ville-la-Grand is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.-External links:*...

 (France) on April 14, 1946, and the first official international competition took place the next year. During the next 60 years the number of associations increased from only 4 (France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Monaco

Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

 and Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

) to more than 50.