The International Federation of Foot and Ankle Societies (IFFAS) was established by doctors in October 1999 to increase cooperation among orthopedic foot and ankle societies around the world. The IFFAS has gone on to become a globally representative organization in the field of foot and ankle joint medical treatment. The federation is a community of regional organizations to which orthopedic surgeons specializing in foot and ankle medical and surgical treatment belong, and it has representatives on the five continents of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Beginning with a first conference in San Francisco in the US in 2002, IFFAS has toured each continent and held seven conferences so far.

Excluding any social, political, religious or racial segregation, the organization aims to: facilitate the exchange of ideas, information and research in the field of the foot and ankle surgery, and its related musculo-skeletal science among both the Foot and Ankle Societies and individual orthopedic foot and ankle surgeons in Asia.