The Executive Committee of the World Karate Federation met Tuesday to discuss the success of the sport and explore upcoming projects and new formats of competition.

Chaired by WKF President Antonio Espinós, Karate’s decision-making body met via videoconference with a number of key topics on the agenda, including the presentation of the 2022 accounts and 2024 budget, the revisions of the competition fees for 2024, the draft WKF calendar for 2024, and updates on upcoming events such as World Championships in Budapest and the 2025 World Games in Chengdu among others.

One of the most ground-breaking initiatives in the history of Karate, the new format of the World Championships was widely reviewed as the WKF Competition Rules and the WKF Organising Rules were updated and approved.

With the new structure of the World Championships modifying the alignment of the sport and driving Karate to a new era, the prospects of the future World Championships were also analysed. Once the 2024 World Senior Team Championships were appointed to Spain, the WKF Executive Committee decided to continue exploring potential hosts for the team and individual events from 2025 onwards. 

Additionally, the Olympic prospects of Karate were discussed. The Executive Committee also celebrated the successful outcome of the “Guardian Girls Global Karate project” thus far as Karate’s officials were briefed on the next steps of Karate’s innovative programme to fight Gender-Based Violence. 

WKF President Antonio Espinós said after the meeting:

“We had a very productive meeting and had a great opportunity to talk about the successes of Karate and look into future projects. With revolutionary initiatives such as the new format of World Championships and the “Guardian Girls Global Karate Project” among others, I have no doubt we can continue to showcase our values and the strength of Karate around the world. We are definitively on the right path, and I am convinced that we can continue establishing Karate’s status as the modern, popular, and life-changing sport that it is today.”