WHAT IS IFBB PRO?

The IFBB Professional League is the world's leading organization for Bodybuilding, Fitness, Physique, and Health sports. The IFBB Pro League hosts the iconic Joe Weider’s “OLYMPIA”, known globally as “The Best Physique Show in the World.”

The International Federation of Bodybuilders was founded in 1946 in Montreal, Canada, by the “Weider Brothers,” Joe and Ben Weider. Canada and the USA were the first two member countries.

The IFBB organized its first professional competition, “MR. OLYMPIA,” on September 18, 1965, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City.

On November 27, 2005, Joe and Ben Weider officially announced the creation of the IFBB Professional League, a separate and distinct entity from the original International Federation of Bodybuilders. They appointed Jim Manion, President of the National Physique Committee (NPC) of the USA, as the head of the IFBB Pro League.

On November 25, 2017, Jim Manion officially announced the launch of NPC Worldwide, the international amateur branch of the NPC. The NPC and NPC Worldwide “Pro Qualifier” competitions are the only pathway to earning an IFBB PRO card and the opportunity to compete in the #1 organization of the sport, where the best athletes in the world showcase their physiques.

Tyler Manion was appointed Vice President of the NPC, NPC Worldwide, and IFBB Pro League on May 16, 2019.

Before the founding of the IFBB Pro League in 2005, the IFBB had 4 professional divisions and held 15 professional contests. In 2024, the IFBB Pro League had 11 professional divisions and hosted 165 professional contests.

NPC Worldwide held its first competition in November 2017. By 2024, NPC Worldwide organized 94 Pro Qualifiers (including 11 Amateur Olympia events) and 415 regional competitions, totaling 509 amateur shows. The IFBB Pro League and NPC Worldwide held competitions in 75 countries around the globe.