• SportOnSocial International Federations 2025 Report analysis ranks Olympic International Federations’ 2024 social media performance
• IFs generate 11% audience growth with 50.6m new followers – slowest growth rate since 2021
• Overall IF follower growth decreased 19% from 62.6m in 2023
• International Canoe Federation biggest League Table climber rising 12 places

World Athletics has secured the top spot in the SportOnSocial International Federations 2025 Report.

The ninth edition of our annual SportOnSocial International Federations 2025 Report, ranks 43 summer and winter Olympic International Federations (IFs) by measuring their social media performance in 2024.

World Athletics rises four places to gain the SportOnSocial International Federations 2025 Report no. 1 position following strong social media engagement across all platforms, including being the best-performing IF on Instagram and Facebook for the first time.

Overall IF audiences grew by 11% in 2024, the slowest growth rate since Tokyo 2020 (a year heavily impacted by COVID-19). Audience growth rate fell 19% from 62.6m in 2023 to 50.6m last year.

The Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics was a key opportunity that helped to boost many IFs, underlining how the Olympic cycle influences visibility, fuels new follower attention and redistributes overall audience share across the broader sports community. IFs outside the overall top five on the list saw their social engagement boosted by an average 22% during the Olympic year compared to 2023.

The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the highest climber in the rankings, jumping 12 places to 5^th. This success was largely attributed to ICF’s use of YouTube, where it rose 33 places to become the top-performing IF on the platform. Strong growth on Facebook and Instagram further bolstered its ascent.

Badminton World Federation (BWF) made TikTok a priority platform, ranking 2^nd in TikTok engagement despite a -39% year-on-year (YoY) drop in overall IF TikTok interactions.

The 2025 top 10 ranking IFs are:

Additional headlines from the SportOnSocial International Federations 2025 Report:

• YouTube growth accelerates: YouTube was the only platform to record a YoY increase in engagement (+92%), with Shorts proving to be a major driver of audience growth.
• TikTok engagement declines: Despite a 23% rise in TikTok followers, IFs collectively saw a -39% drop in engagement, with athlete and fan-generated content dominating over federation-led content.
• World Table Tennis leads in China: WTT ranked #1 overall, leading on Weibo, Douyin and WeChat – amassing a combined 43m engagements across all platforms.
• FIG performs best compared to Tokyo 2020: FIG generated 5.2x more engagements in 2024 vs Tokyo 2020 across Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter – the highest increase of any IF and well above the 2.4x IF average.

Chris Argyle-Robinson, Research & Strategy Director, Redtorch said:

With more than five billion people now active on social media, the competition for attention is fiercer than ever. This year’s SportOnSocial provides International Federations with the data and insights needed to refine their strategies, enhance their strengths and navigate the shifting trends in digital engagement.

“With Milano Cortina 2026 and Los Angeles 2028 on the horizon, it’s vital for federations to build sustainable, long-term digital strategies that capitalise on their own championships and extend beyond major event cycles.