FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is planning to finish age limits for workplace holders in motorsport’s governing physique.
The transfer, which has been proposed for approval at subsequent month’s FIA Basic Meeting, comes six months after Ben Sulayem ended term limits for those holding leadership posts across the organisation.
The FIA statutes at present rule out anybody over the age of 75 from standing as a part of a presidential workforce.
Critics say it’s the newest step by Ben Sulayem as he seeks to make sure he can stay FIA president for all times.
The proposal to be put ahead to the Basic Meeting, which has been seen by BBC Sport, argues that “age limits may limit the variety of certified candidates eligible for election by the competent our bodies, specifically people whose expertise and experience might be of profit to the FIA”.
An age restrict of 70 was imposed in 2023, throughout Ben Sulayem’s first presidential time period.
It was a tactic to stop MotorsportUK boss David Richards from with the ability to oppose Ben Sulayem on the 2025 presidential election.
On the time, Ben Sulayem, who’s 64, argued that this could “improve governance and accountability throughout the organisation”.
The FIA added that the transfer to introduce an age restrict “mirrored the FIA’s dedication to sustaining excessive requirements in its management and governance buildings”.
Requested why the physique had now modified its place, an FIA spokesperson mentioned: “The proposal to take away age limits for FIA officeholders brings the FIA in keeping with organisations such because the BBC, whose chairman is 74.
“It was accepted by the world councils for submission in keeping with the method set out within the FIA statutes, and can solely take impact if the overall meeting votes in favour.
“An age restrict excludes candidates solely on the premise of their date of start, no matter their expertise, experience, or means to contribute.
“In the end, the competent FIA our bodies will retain full authority to elect the officeholders they deem acceptable.”
Ben Sulayem’s transfer comes within the context of a European Parliament resolution passed in October 2025 on “the role of EU policies in shaping the European Sport Model”, external.
This features a clause that “recognises that the autonomy of sport is conditional upon good governance, and calls on worldwide, European, and nationwide sports activities organisations, in addition to stakeholder-representative organisations, to implement the best requirements of governance, integrity and transparency, with acceptable checks and balances to make sure accountability”.
A consultation on the topic, external, launched in April 2026, is because of report by the tip of this 12 months.
The EU’s goal is to “deal with the main challenges going through the game sector. These embody monetary sustainability and inequalities, governance points, volunteering decline and inclusion. The objective is to deal with these challenges by means of coordinated motion at European degree.”
The FIA age restrict was raised to 75 in 2024 on the premise that it was “modernising the governance of the FIA and making certain that candidates for the presidency are extra aligned with present management practices”.
Age limits for leaders aren’t universally widespread in sports activities governing our bodies. Some implement them to advertise renewal, others select to not, permitting the widest breadth of candidates.
Ben Sulayem was first elected FIA president in 2021 and was re-elected unopposed final December as a consequence of a quirk of the FIA statutes stopping another candidate from standing.
Three individuals who needed to oppose him – together with former racing driver Laura Villars and ex-FIA steward Tim Mayer – have been blocked from doing so.
Villars is at present engaged in a legal action against Ben Sulayem and the FIA in France challenging its electoral process.
Ben Sulayem’s presidency has been marked by a collection of controversies on the problems of governance and transparency.
Along with the removing of time period limits, he has launched statutes reducing accountability and concentrating power in his hands.
And he has fired a collection of senior officers who questioned facets to do together with his management, together with:
Ben Sulayem’s first vice-president for sport, Robert Reid, resigned in April 2025 citing “a basic breakdown in governance requirements inside” the FIA.
On the Basic Meeting, to be held in Shanghai, Ben Sulayem faces a request by the Ukraine Vehicle Federation (FAU) to incorporate on the agenda the difficulty of violations of the FIA statutes and worldwide sporting code by the Russian Vehicle Federation (RAF).
The RAF has opened regional branches in 4 cities recognised as sovereign areas of Ukraine by the United Nations.
The FAU has already requested the FIA to look into the difficulty by means of its court docket of attraction however has obtained no response.
The FAU is asking the FIA to droop the RAF’s membership of the worldwide physique till it closes all its places of work in Ukraine and suspends all exercise there.
FAU president Oleksander Feldman mentioned: “Our proposal is absolutely in keeping with the place of the Worldwide Olympic Committee concerning the circumstances for the participation of Russian athletes in competitions.
“Certainly, such participation turned attainable particularly on the premise of ensures supplied by the Russian Olympic Committee that it might not conduct actions on the sovereign territory of Ukraine.”
