IBSA Judo introduction in Africa
Part of IBSA Judo’s strategy is to involve Africa as much as possible in active judo.
As a first step, a high-level international competition was organized in Alexandria (EGY) in 2022 and 2023. At the same time, the most important stage of the actual construction is relationship building.
After several negotiations, at the invitation of the African Judo Union, János Tardos, IBSA Judo Chairman, participated in the continent’s congress and gave a lecture.
The IJF facilitated the connection and the participation. The presentation showed the history of para judo, eye classification, the specifics of blind and partially sighted judo, the competition system, and the preparation for the Paris Paralympics. A separate topic was the presentation of the situation in African judo.
27 countries were represented at the Congress of the African continent. In the days following the presentation, negotiations took place with 13 presidents and vice presidents from different countries. The possibility of a 2024 African development project was also outlined.