Karate faces criticism over IOC funds and development failures
Farzad Youshanlou
January 26, 2025

The World Karate Federation is facing mounting criticism over its controversial decision to limit participation in the World Championships, a move widely condemned as discriminatory within the karate community.

Karate, with its origins in Okinawa and later refined in Japan, began its international expansion in the 1970s. Despite decades-long campaigns to secure a spot in the Olympic Games, the sport has failed to achieve this ambition. Compounding this disappointment, karate has deviated from its technical roots, leaving practitioners and experts disillusioned. The WKF’s monopolistic approach to governance has stifled innovation and growth, causing the sport to lose momentum. As a result, karate is increasingly overshadowed by other martial arts in terms of both participation and global appeal.

When compared to judo and taekwondo, karate’s struggles become even more apparent. Both judo and taekwondo have earned widespread recognition for their dynamic Olympic events and transparent refereeing systems, which continue to captivate audiences. Karate, on the other hand, has failed to adapt, placing its future in jeopardy. Adding to the pressure, Muay Thai, recently recognized by the Olympic Movement, is making significant progress toward Olympic inclusion — further highlighting karate’s shortcomings.

Despite karate’s exclusion from the Olympic Games, WKF President Antonio Espinós who has led the federation since 1998 has refused to step down or acknowledge responsibility for the sport’s failure to achieve Olympic recognition. Instead, Espinós introduced a controversial policy restricting World Championships participation to the top 32 athletes in each category, based solely on WKF rankings. This move has alienated much of the karate community, particularly athletes from South America and Africa, who now face significant barriers to competing on the world stage.

INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE FUNDS

Between 2020 and 2023, the WKF received 3,391,102 Swiss francs (approximately 3.75 million USD) in funding from the International Olympic Committee. Despite this substantial financial support, the funds have not been effectively allocated to prioritize educational programs or expand opportunities for athletes in underprivileged regions.

The 2024 African Junior, Cadet, and U21 Karate Championships in Tunisia highlighted these challenges, with fewer than half of Africa’s 54 nations able to participate. While the uneven popularity of karate across the continent plays a role, the more pressing issue is the lack of adequate training equipments and educational resources in many African countries. This disparity was evident at the 2018 World Karate Championships, where Africa was represented by just 174 athletes out of 1,117 participants. The continent secured only four bronze medals, all from North Africa—two from Egypt and one each from Morocco and Algeria.

The situation is equally concerning in South America. Many countries across the continent face similar challenges due to what appears to be a disregard for their needs in the WKF’s policies. The lack of equitable investment in training, development, and education programs for athletes in both Africa and South America underscores systemic neglect that hinders the global growth of karate.

GERMAN OPEN AND PARIS OPEN

The decline of iconic events like the Paris Open and German Open underscores the diminishing vitality of karate on the international stage. Once celebrated as two of Europe’s premier tournaments, these events were renowned for attracting top athletes from around the world and captivating audiences with their energy and inclusivity. The German Open, briefly rebranded under the Karate 1 Premier League banner, has since been discontinued entirely, marking a significant loss for the sport. Meanwhile, the Paris Open, though still active, has undergone a transformation that has stripped it of much of its original charm. Once an open competition that welcomed athletes of any ranks and provided a platform for meaningful engagement, it now caters predominantly to top-ranked competitors. Under the policies of the World Karate Federation, participation has dwindled to just 375 athletes. Despite this exclusivity, the quality of competition has not improved and, in some respects, has declined, leaving the event a shadow of its former self.

Since 2022, the World Karate Federation  seems to have maintained its reliance on IOC funding while disregarding the fundamental Olympic values that recognize sports as a universal right and aim to provide opportunities for all individuals to participate in competitive sports. The WKF stands out as the only international sports federation that, on the one hand, aspires to join the Olympic Games, yet on the other, restricts its World Championships and Karate Leagues to a select group of athletes. These athletes are typically those who possess the financial means and favorable living conditions necessary to learn, train, and compete in karate at the level required by global standards to achieve high rankings. Meanwhile, those lacking such resources are left without access to educational or developmental opportunities within the sport.

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