The third Karate 1-Premier League event of the season will be held in Fukuoka (Japan) from June 9 to 11. The event will be available LIVE on the WKF YouTube channel and many TV networks and platforms around the world.

WHAT

• The Karate 1-Premier League Fukuoka is the third tournament of the season of Karate’s first-class series of events.   
• The first two events of the season were held in Cairo (Egypt) and Rabat (Morocco)
• After Fukuoka, the 2023 Karate 1-Premier League will travel to Dublin (Ireland) where the season will come to a close.

WHERE

• The tournament takes place at the Fukuoka Kokusai Centre.
• Japan are the birth nation of the sport and one of the biggest powerhouse countries of Karate.
• It is the first time that a Karate 1-Premier League event will be held in Fukuoka. Previously, Japan have welcomed Karate 1-Premier League events in Tokyo in 2019 and 2018, and in Okinawa in 2016, 2015, and 2014.  
  
  

WHEN

• The event is scheduled from June 9 to 11. 
• The eliminations will be held on Friday and Saturday (from 09.00 to 20.30 local times, GMT+9).
• The bronze medal bouts are scheduled on Sunday, from 10.00 to 14.00. The finals will be held on Sunday from 15.30 to 18.00
• CLICK HERE to go to the full competition programme.

WHO

• Over 300 athletes from 47 countries have registered to participate in the event.
• Participation in Karate 1-Premier League is limited to a maximum of 32 athletes per category.
• The host nation of Japan presents the largest delegation with 49 athletes. Kazakhstan with 25 athletes and Ukraine with 17 karatekas will also be widely represented.
• Nine of the 12 Grand Winners will take part in the event in Fukuoka. Yorgelis Salazar of Venezuela, Hikaru Ono of Japan, Dionysios Xenos of Greece and Kakeru Nishiyama of Japan are among the Grand Winners competing in Fukuoka.

HOW

• The competition follows a Round Robin format in the eliminations. The quarterfinals, semi-finals, and medal bouts follow a knockout system.
  
  

WHAT ELSE

• #FightForGrandWinner: The event will be crucial in the quest for the Grand Winners award.
• Among the many exciting clashes to become the “Best of the Best”, Irina Zaretska of Azerbaijan and Elena Quirici of Switzerland will fight to become number 1 in the Standings as only 825 points separate the two frontrunners in Female Kumite -68kg. In Male Kata, numbers 1 and 2 of the Standings Kakeru Nishiyama of Japan and Damian Quintero of Spain are separated by only 60 points.  
• The WKF’s ambitious initiative to fight Gender-Based Violence, “Guardian Girls Global Karate Project” will also be presented in Fukuoka. A demonstration of self-defence for women will be showcased during the finals on Sunday. Learn more about this project here.
  

WATCH IT LIVE!

• The eliminations and medal bouts are available LIVE on the WKF YouTube channel. CLICK HERE to go to the WKF YouTube channel (restrictions apply)
• The medal bouts on Sunday are available on Fight Sports and a number of TV networks and platforms around the world. CLICK HERE to access the full list of TV providers and platforms.
• The Official Draw of the competition will be available by streaming on the WKF YouTube channel on Thursday, June 8 at 19.00 (GMT +9). CLICK HERE to go to the WKF YouTube channel.

2023 KARATE 1-PREMIER LEAGUE FUKUOKA