Headquartered in Las Rozas de Madrid, it oversees many of the sport's major international events, notably the World and Continental Championships.

[3][4] In 1946, the IFBB was founded by brothers Ben and Joe Weider in Montreal, Canada, under the name "International Federation of Bodybuilders".

[6] On September 4, 1970, the IFBB held its 1st International Congress in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, where a Constitution was adopted and an Executive Council.

From the 1980s to his death in 2008, IFBB president Ben Weider petitioned the IOC for inclusion of bodybuilding in the Olympic Games.

[8] Although bodybuilding had never been on the Olympic Program,[9] in 1998, the IOC granted the IFBB provisional recognition, which lasted nearly four years, but was withdrawn in 2001.

The IFBB meets annually at its International Congress, held in conjunction with the Men's World Bodybuilding Championships.