The first ADFS Board was established in Rheine, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany on 5 July 2014 and consisted of Armin Koller(Chair), Luca Dalla Paola(Vice-Chair), Klaus Kirketerp-Moeller(Secretary), Ralph Springfeld(Treasurer), Sigurd Kessler and Alberto Piaggesi (Boards members). The society was inaugurated during a general assembly at the first symposium of the ADFS, held at IWGDF Meeting in Den Haugue May 2015

The purpose of the association is to provide a platform for Diabetic Foot Surgeons in order to enhance cooperation across medical specialities and promote best practice in clinical interventions, research and education within the field of diabetic foot surgery.

The first symposium of ADFS was held on 23 May 2015 at the International Symposium on the Diabetic Foot in The Hague, Netherlands. The symposium included presentations about the historic role of surgery in diabetic foot treatment with special emphasis on neuropathy and infections.

The occasion was also used to officially launch the society, and following this event, the association started to receive its first formal membership requests.

In the second part of 2015, the association has focused on establishing the organisational structures of the association and especially on setting up the membership database and starting to plan the association’s 2nd symposium to be held on 8-9 September 2016 in Stuttgart, Germany.

In 2021 the association changed its name from Association of Diabetic Foot Surgeons (ADFS) to International Association of Diabetic Foot Surgeons (IADFS).