The meeting, scheduled for April 23 during the SportAccord Convention in Sochi, will come the day after the body's annual General Assembly in the Russian resort.

It will discuss issues likely to involve preparations for next year's Rio Games, as well as possible venue changes for Tokyo 2020.

This comes after stormy scenes during last year's Assembly in Belek, when a succession of officials from across the 28 international federations criticised the slow speed of construction progress in Rio, particularly at the Deodoro Complex, where eight Olympic and four Paralympic sports are due to be held.

Since then, improvements have been made and a more positive message regarding progress has been put forward, but the need for a special meeting suggests some concerns remain with 16 months to go until the Games begin.

Changes to venues in Tokyo is another hot topic currently for debate, with insidethegames revealing last December that as many as 14 sports could potentially be moved, following a recommendation as part of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Agenda 2020 reform process permitted changes in order to take advantage of more affordable, pre-existing venues.

Recommendation 13 of the 40 Agenda 2020 proposals foresees an "enhanced role" for the IFs in the planning and delivery of the Olympic competitions. 

Representatives from both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 will be present at the meeting, it has been announced, along with IOC officials.

Rio 2016 was a key issue during last year's ASOIF General Assembly in Belek ©Twitter



The decision to hold the meeting was confirmed today following an ASOIF Council meeting in Lausanne, attended by IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi and IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell.

A joint IOC-ASOIF Working Group has also been convened to define the IOC roles and responsibilities in the different phases of the Olympic Movement project, with the ultimate goals of "maximising synergies among stakeholders, ensuring a seamless organisation of the Games and, last but not least, reduce costs". 

A shared IF Sports Data platform and model for the Rio 2016 IF's Revenue Distributions were among other items on the agenda in Lausanne, ahead of further discussions at the General Assembly on April 21.

"This year will be exciting for the Olympic Movement in general and for the Summer Olympic International Federations in particular," ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said after the Council meeting.

"We are fully ready to support the implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020 and are looking forward to a number of test events in Rio as a very important milestone for a successful Olympic Games."

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