Animath is the main association in France in the field of extracurricular, but also competitive, mathematics. It was founded in 1998 to coordinate several "actions", each of them being a program of activities for middle- and high-school students, including the olympic preparation that would select and train the IMO team every year. In 25 years of existence, Animath has developped new successful actions, some of which are dedicated to girls such as the "Rendez-Vous des Jeunes Mathématiciennes et Informaticiennes", which brings together curious young female mathematicians, to help them get to know and inspire each other. More recently, Animath was co-founder of the international ETEAM tournament.

Meanwhile, the olympic preparation has become the Préparation Olympique Française de Mathématiques (POFM) and trains every year hundreds of students, who participate in half a dozen international competitions (including EGMO). The POFM provides not only contestants but also organizing board and jury members, thus has some experience of the organization of an international competition. Before organizing EGMO 2026, the POFM was at the initiative of the creation in 2020 of the OFM, the (remotely-held) French-speaking countries' Mathematical Olympiad, and its organizer multiple times.

The local organization of EGMO 2026 has now become an action of Animath in itself, with volunteers from the POFM and other actions to tackle the challenge.