It was founded in 1978 at Bangkok Congress as the Asian Archery Federation (AAF).

[1] WAA HQ was first located in India, but was then moved to South Korea in 1986 by WAA's third president and the CEO of Hyundai Steel at the time, Chung Mong-koo.

[1][2] Chung, currently the Honorary Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, served as WAA president for 11 years.

[3] Currently, Chung's only son, heir, and the current Executive Chairman and CEO of Hyundai Motor Group, Chung Eui-sun is the president of the federation.

[4][5] He is currently on his fifth consecutive term after his re-election on November 12, 2021 at WAA biennial congress in Dhaka, Bangladesh.