ABSTRACT
Pierre de Coubertin (1863–1937), the Secretary General of the Union of French Athletic Sports Clubs known as the USFSA (Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques), along with its President Georges de Saint-Clair organised in 1894 an international congress in Paris, from 16 to 24 June, to revive the Olympic Games (Congrès pour le rétablissement des Jeux Olympiques). On 23 June, the congress delegates voted for the establishment of the Olympic Games and for the creation of the International Olympic Games Committee, first named the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Through the creation process of the French Olympic Movement, the Union of French Athletic Sports Clubs, created on 31 January 1889 and known as the USFSA, had a central role. Thanks to its President Georges de Saint-Clair and its Secretary General Pierre de Coubertin, the USFSA became the true French sports governing body. Following the Congress, Coubertin decided on 1 December 1894 to logically create the first French Olympic Committee (Comité olympique français or COF). The mission of the COF was to ensure proper training for the French athletes going into the first Olympics.
