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 Common Meeting, comes six months after Ben Sulayem ended time period limits for these holding management posts throughout the organisation.
The FIA statutes at present rule out anybody over the age of 75 from standing as a part of a presidential crew.
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 Common 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, particularly people whose expertise and experience may very well 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 forestall MotorsportUK boss David Richards from having the ability to oppose Ben Sulayem on the 2025 presidential election.
On the time, Ben Sulayem, who’s 64, argued that this may “improve governance and accountability inside 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”.
The FIA has been contacted for touch upon the change of stance however has not supplied a response.
Ben Sulayem’s transfer comes within the context of a European Parliament decision handed in October 2025 on “the function of EU insurance policies in shaping the European Sport Mannequin”, exterior.
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 very best requirements of governance, integrity and transparency, with acceptable checks and balances to make sure accountability”.
A session on the subject, exterior, launched in April 2026, is because of report by the top of this yr.
The EU’s intention is to “deal with the main challenges dealing with the game sector. These embody monetary sustainability and inequalities, governance points, volunteering decline and inclusion. The aim is to handle 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 should not universally frequent 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 wished 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 authorized motion towards Ben Sulayem and the FIA in France difficult its electoral course of.
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 lowering accountability and concentrating energy in his palms.
And he has fired a collection of senior officers who questioned facets to do along with his management, together with:
Ben Sulayem’s first vice-president for sport, Robert Reid, resigned in April 2025 citing “a elementary breakdown in governance requirements inside” the FIA.
On the Common Meeting, to be held in Shanghai, Ben Sulayem faces a request by the Ukraine Car Federation (FAU) to incorporate on the agenda the difficulty of violations of the FIA statutes and worldwide sporting code by the Russian Car 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 enchantment 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 workplaces in Ukraine and suspends all exercise there.
FAU president Oleksander Feldman stated: “Our proposal is absolutely per the place of the Worldwide Olympic Committee concerning the situations for the participation of Russian athletes in competitions.
“Certainly, such participation turned doable particularly on the premise of ensures supplied by the Russian Olympic Committee that it might not conduct actions on the sovereign territory of Ukraine.”
