Weightlifting is beginning to gain space on the institutional agenda for 2027 with its inclusion in the programme of the Francophonie Games, which will be held in Yerevan from 23 July to 1 August. As part of the 500-day countdown to the event, the French Ministry of Sports hosted a meeting on Wednesday 11 March attended by Minister Marina Ferrari, Head of the French Delegation Thibaut Despres, and Christophe Gigaudaut, Delegate for Francophone Affairs at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

The French Weightlifting Federation -FFHM- was also represented at that meeting by its president, Michel Raynaud, and its National Technical Director, Philippe Geiss, during a follow-up session on France’s preparations for the Games. The call for applications remains open and has so far received 79 submissions for a programme of 10 disciplines including athletics, para-athletics, football, judo, table tennis, 3×3 basketball, 3×3 wheelchair basketball, breaking, chess and weightlifting, one of the new additions in this edition.

Yerevan 2027 opens a new route for weightlifting

The weightlifting competition in Yerevan will be organised in collaboration with the Armenian Weightlifting Federation and the International Weightlifting Federation -IWF-, and will run over five days. The programme will follow the eight official IWF weight categories for both men and women, with a maximum of eight athletes per gender and a limit of two competitors per weight category.

The regulations for the event state that athletes must be between 18 and 35 years old on the day of competition, hold a valid IWF licence and present both a valid international health booklet and a medical certificate confirming fitness to compete in weightlifting. The registration process will be divided into three stages: quantitative registration for quota validation until 28 February 2027, the long list until 28 April 2027, and the final short list until 28 June 2027.

Kosovo steps in as the EWF reshapes its 2026 calendar

At the same time, the European Weightlifting Federation -EWF- approved its 2026 calendar on 27 February during an online meeting of its Executive Board and made one of the key decisions of the season by awarding the European Youth & U15 Championships to Kosovo. According to the federation, the move was intended to identify a host capable of guaranteeing the participation of all member federations in line with IWF policy and to settle the appointment without further delay.

The event will take place in Pristina from 20 to 27 August 2026, returning to a host city that had already staged the same championships successfully in 2017. The EWF also reviewed preparations for the senior European Championships in Batumi, Georgia, scheduled for 19 to 26 April, and for the European Junior & U23 Championships in Durres, Albania, set for 12 to 19 October, noting that preparations are progressing as planned.

Batumi, Pristina and Durres define the next continental map

With those decisions, European weightlifting has now fixed its three main continental hosts for 2026, while the Francophone side continues to shape its roadmap towards Yerevan 2027 with the addition of the discipline to the multi-sport programme. The calendar approved by the EWF places the senior European Championships in Batumi, the Youth & U15 event in Pristina, and the junior and U23 competition in Durres, setting the framework for the next international season.

As for the Francophonie Games, the organisers expect to share new information before the summer based on updates received from the International Committee of the Francophonie Games -CIJF- and the national committee, while the technical planning for weightlifting already has its duration, age criteria, medical requirements and three registration deadlines in place.