Following an initiative launched by François Browne de Kilmaine, president of Midec, organisers from the main international fairs in the world such as WSA, Micam, Couromoda, Midec and Modacalzado have agreed to establish the World Footwear Fair Association. The meeting was held at the Couromoda fair in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

The proposal made by Mr Browne de Kilmaine—which foresees sharing knowledge and carrying out joint projects to benefit both exhibitors and buyers—was accepted immediately by the representatives from other events which included Skip Farber and Diane Stone (WSA, USA); Rossano Soldini (Micam, Italy), Francisco Santos (Couromoda, Brazil), and Pola Iglesias (Modacalzado, Spain). Together, these fairs represent over 6,000 exhibitors.

The first formal meeting of the new organisation will be held at WSA in Las Vegas, where structuring and operational arrangements will be discussed.