• Our latest SportOnSocial International Federations 2026 report ranks Olympic International Federations’ social media performance over last year

• FIFA and Volleyball World take 2^nd and 3^rd place

• International Ski and Snowboard Federation leads winter IFs as Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games build-up drives engagement

• World Triathlon biggest league table climber rising 15 places

World Athletics has secured the top spot in our SportOnSocial International Federations 2026 report – beating FIFA and Volleyball World who came 2^nd and 3^rd respectively.

The 10^th edition of the report ranks 44 summer and winter Olympic International Federations (IFs) by measuring their social media performance over the last year.

World Athletics shows its social media power by retaining its position on top of the podium for a second year in a row – ranking as the number one IF on Facebook, 2^nd on TikTok and 3^rd on Instagram. This success can be attributed to the federation’s improved performance on TikTok in particular – rising to 2^nd from 9^th last year on the platform’s specific ranking.

As winter IFs prepared for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, they experienced improved social media results. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) is the highest ranked winter IF, rising 11 places to 4^thoverall and scoring 1^st on Instagram.

The biggest riser in the league table is World Triathlon, climbing 15 places to 15^th – the federation’s best-ever ranking. This surge was powered by standout growth on video platforms YouTube (up 24 places to 2^nd) and TikTok (up 15 places to 13^th), alongside ranking gains across all platforms including Chinese ones.

Our SportOnSocial data also shows that IFs are increasingly shifting to a video-first content approach. Video now accounts for 62% of all IF posts, up from 54% in 2022.

New engagement trends were identified in the report. Facebook and TikTok are the only platforms to see year-on-year increases in engagement. 30 IFs on TikTok and 29 IFs on Facebook saw an increase in engagement compared to 19 on YouTube, 12 on Instagram and only 7 on X – platforms which collectively saw sizable declines in engagement when assessed against the previous year.

China is clearly viewed by IFs to be a long-term growth market. Unlike some global platforms where engagement declined after Paris 2024, China platforms continued to grow +18% YoY, proving them to be a high-focus area for IFs aiming for global attention. Engagement surged across major Chinese platforms, e.g. WeChat (+476%*), Weibo (+27%), Douyin (+11%).

The top 10 ranking IFs in 2026 are:

Karishma Riar, Head of Research & Insights, Redtorch said:

2025 was an exceptional year for global sport, and 2026 started with the Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina refocusing social media attention on International Federations. As competition for attention across social platforms intensifies, the real challenge for IFs is not only to stand out, but to be truly memorable.

Marking the 10^th edition of SportOnSocial International Federations, this milestone highlights a decade of significant growth in social media performance and SportOnSocial is the world’s only platform powered by 10 years of exclusive behavioural data from the Olympic Movement. It’s clear social media success today is increasingly defined by an organisation’s ability to capture attention and build lasting recognition with fans.