International Judo Federation
CategorySports federation
JurisdictionInternational
AbbreviationIJF
Founded1951 (1951)
HeadquartersBudapest, Hungary
PresidentMarius Vizer
Official website
ijf.org

The International Judo Federation (IJF) is the international governing body for judo, founded in July 1951.[1] The IJF was originally composed of judo federations from Europe and Argentina.[2] Countries from four continents were affiliated over the next ten years. Today the IJF has 200 National Federations on all continents. There are over 20 million people around the globe who practice judo, according to the IJF.[3]

History

Since 2009, IJF has organized yearly World Championships and the World Judo Tour consisting of five Grand Prix, four Grand Slams, a master tournament, and a Continental open tournament.[4]

In September 2021, Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine and his coach Amar Benikhlef were suspended for 10 years by the IJF after Nourine refused to fight an Israeli athlete during the 2020 Summer Olympics.[5] Nourine said his political support for the Palestinians in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict made it impossible for him to compete against Israeli athletes.[6]

The IJF initially named Russian President Vladimir Putin its honorary president and IJF Ambassador in 2008.[7] That status was temporarily suspended in 2022, in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[7][8]

The IJF also cancelled all competitions in Russia, but allowed their athletes to compete as neutrals in individual and team competitions.[9][10]

IJF President Marius Vizer, a long-time close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, wanted to let Russians and Belarusians continue to compete as neutral athletes despite the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Ukrainian pressure to suspend them entirely.[10] Ultimately, both national federations withdrew on their own accord, until June 2022 when they returned.[10] Ukraine boycotted IJF events beginning in June 2022 because the Russian team was allowed to compete in and entered competitions. Judo is one of the few Olympic sports which goes against the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee.[11]

The IJF announced on 29 April 2023, the last day of event registration, that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be allowed to participate as individual neutral athletes following background checks.[12][13][14] Following the announcement, twenty Russian and Belarusian athletes were registered were entered into the championships.[13][15][16] Of the twenty, at least five were reported to have ties to the Russian Armed Forces,[13][17] despite the IOC's suggestion to deny participation of athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies.[13][18] In protest, the Ukrainian team withdrew from the championships.[13][15][17]

Events

Presidents of the IJF

References

  1. ↑ Ohlenkamp, Neil (2006). Black Belt Judo – Neil Ohlenkamp – Google Books. ISBN 9781845371098.
  2. ↑ "History". www.insidethegames.biz.
  3. ↑ Thomas, Luke (March 8, 2015). "What is judo's problem with mixed martial arts?". MMA Fighting.
  4. ↑ "Timeline". International Judo Federation. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "Tokyo Olympics: Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine and coach suspended for 10 years". BBC Sport. 14 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "Algerian judoka sent home from Olympics after refusing to compete against Israeli". The Guardian. 24 July 2021.
  7. 1 2 "International Judo Federation Suspends Putin as Honorary President". RFI. February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Official Announcement of the International Judo Federation". International Judo Federation. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Citing safety concerns, Russia withdraws all judo athletes from international competition". infobae.
  10. 1 2 3 "Most Olympic federations suspend Russian athletes, but officials go free". playthegame.org.
  11. ↑ "Ukraine boycotts Olympic judo qualifier as Russians compete". 25 June 2022.
  12. ↑ "Resolution Regarding the Participation of Russian and Belarusian Athletes in IJF Events". International Judo Federation. 29 April 2023. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ukraine set to boycott judo worlds after Russians allowed". Associated Press. 30 April 2023. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  14. ↑ Aharoni, Oren (29 April 2023). "Drama in judo: The international federation decided to bring Russian and Belarussian athletes back to competition". Israel Hayom (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  15. 1 2 Aharoni, Oren (30 April 2023). "Ukraine will boycott the World Judo Championships: "The Rubles have won"". Israel Hayom (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "World Judo Championships — Doha 2023 — Individuals — Nations — Individual Neutral Athletes". International Judo Federation. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  17. 1 2 Berkeley, Geoff (30 April 2023). "Ukraine boycott World Judo Championships after decision to readmit Russians". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  18. ↑ "Following a request by the 11th Olympic Summit, IOC issues recommendations for International Federations and international sports event organisers on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions". International Olympic Committee. 28 March 2023. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  19. ↑ "International Judo Federation Executive Committee". International Judo Federation. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
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