Unified Amateur MMA World Championships Announced -- Federation Focus

(ATR) The Khalifa Sport City arena in Manama, Bahrain will be the venue for a unified amateur MMA world championships this November.

The announcement on Monday by the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) and the World Mixed Martial Association (WMMAA) follows last month’s signing of an amalgamation agreement between the two governing bodies.

The 2018 IMMAF–WMMAA Unified World Championships, hosted by the Bahrain Mixed Martial Arts Federation and with support from the Bahrain Olympic Committee, is a country vs. country tournament that will follow the IMMAF Championships format across five days and 14 weight divisions. It will be governed by Unified Amateur MMA Rules.

"We look forward to welcoming IMMAF and WMMAA champions and athletes to compete in one contest at the 2018 Unified World Championships, bringing the best from around the world onto the only credible, global platform for elite amateur MMA," IMMAF President Kerrith Brown said in a statement.

The IMMAF-WMMAA merger and a combined 80+ member countries could mean twice as many participants at this year’s event. The 2017 IMMAF World Championships in Bahrain broke participation records for an MMA tournament with close to 250 athletes representing 48 competing nations.

"The Unified World Championships is another step forward towards our ultimate goal. It is going to be an MMA tournament like no other before with the greatest number of nations and participants ever," WMMAA President Vadim Finkelchtein said in a statement.

Registration is now open to athletes wishing to compete in the tournament, which will run from November 11 to 18.

FIFA Takes Over Uruguayan Football Association

World football’s governing body FIFA is taking temporary control of the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) due to governance concerns.

FIFA says it will set up a "normalization committee" to run the AUF until Feb. 28 of next year. Besides running the AUF’s daily affairs, the committee’s remit includes bringing the AUF’s statutes in line with FIFA and CONMEBOL requirements and then organizing and conducting elections for a new AUF executive committee.

The AUF was plunged into crisis on July 30, when the association’s president Wilmar Valdez abruptly resigned a day before he was expected to win a new term in office.

In a statement, FIFA says the process to elect a new AUF president "is not in accordance with the requirements of transparency as outlined in the FIFA and CONMEBOL statutes".

Uruguay, which hosted the inaugural World Cup in 1930, is campaigning to co-host the 2030 centennial World Cup with Argentina and Paraguay.

Malaysia to Host 2020 Women's World Team Squash Championship

The World Squash Federation has awarded the 2020 WSF Women's World Team Squash Championship to Malaysia.

The 22nd edition of the biennial event will take place at the 10-court Bukit Jalil National Squash Centre in Kuala Lumpur, from December 15 to 20.

The venue, which also features a glass showcourt, has regularly hosted international events since being inaugurated for the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

"We are delighted that Malaysia will host our Women's World Championship in 2020," said WSF President Jacques Fontaine in a statement.

"The enthusiasm for squash is second to none in Malaysia, and the press and broadcast output wonderful too. So this, coupled with the warm hospitality and effective management that we know the visiting teams will receive, is something to look forward to after the much-awaited staging of the 2018 Championship in Dalian, China, next month."

Asiago Awarded 2019 Winter Triathlon World Championships

The 2019 Winter Triathlon World Championships will be held in Asiago, Italy on February 9 and 10.

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) announced this week the decision to return to the Alps.

"Asiago seems just like the perfect venue for this, with a mix of great facilities, lots of snow, and a convenient location which I’m sure will help to attract not only the elite winter triathletes from all over the world, but also the upcoming stars of the sport, the para athletes and age groupers", said ITU president and IOC member Marisol Casado in a statement.

Winter triathlon is one of the newest events on ITU’s calendar. In addition to the Elite World Championship, Asiago will welcome Under23, Junior, Paratriathlon and Age Group athletes to vie for a chance at becoming the next World Champion in their respective divisions.

Written by Gerard Farek

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