IMMAF and WMMAA merger underway
The IMMAF and WMMAA are calling on their respective members to notify national federations as to their status under the new structure.
The International MMA Federation (IMMAF) and the World Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA) are putting into practice the plans reached last month for the global unification of amateur mixed martial arts.
The IMMAF and WMMAA are calling on their respective members to notify national federations as to their status under the new structure.
In facilitating the unification of two organizations in some territories, we aim to bring the strengths and successes of each to the table and help them to negotiate a complementary working structure under one banner, said IMMAF president Kerrith Brown in a statement.
In countries where both federations exist and are recognized, the plan is for the organizations to collaborate. In countries where only one of them is recognized by the Ministry of Sport or NOC, the other is to be absorbed into the recognized federation.
The respective strengths of national federations have been assessed according to IMMAF/ WMMAA membership targets, which follows the membership criteria set at an international level by the Global Association of International Sport Federations (GAISF).
A huge amount of work has been done to unitе the federations on a national level and speed up the movement towards GAISF and consequently Olympic Committee recognition, said WMMAA President Vadim Finkelchtein. We expect that each federation – be it an IMMAF or WMMAA member – is willing to find common ground with their past rivals for the sake of MMA.
The initial international opportunities for the two federations to come together will be through invitations to WMMAA members to participate in IMMAF continental championships and courses, in the run up to a joint 2018 World Championships of Amateur MMA in Bahrain in November.
H/T Around The Rings