The International Table Tennis Federation was founded in 1926.
The organisation was established to govern international table tennis and coordinate major competitions between national associations. Its foundation came during the sport’s early international expansion, when rules and tournament practices were still becoming standardised.
The first World Table Tennis Championships were held in London in 1926, the same year the federation was formed. The event helped give the new governing body a regular international competition to administer.
Today, the federation oversees the sport’s laws, world rankings, equipment regulations and world championships. It also works with national associations and the Olympic movement. The abbreviation ITTF is widely used, but the federation’s founding year is a separate historical fact from the year of the first world championships.