Saudi Arabia’s Muaythai Development towards the World Combat Games 2023
First Female Saudi Muaythai Championships
After the first all-female coaching seminar coordinated by the Chair of the IFMA Athletes Commission and former world champion Janice Lyn, Saudi held their first female national youth championships.
The event was held under the sanctioning of the National Olympic Committee. Nak Muay Ying from all Saudi regions coming together for this historical event.
His Highness Prince Fahad Al Saud the President of muaythai in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stated that the Saudi Muaythai Federation is very much in line with IFMA’s Gender Equality Policy and this is why these national development programmes are held in all Saudi regions especially as the World Combat Games is only 18 months away and quickly approaching.
The event saw many outstanding fights and a special trophy was given to Reem Al-Sharif on behalf of the Sport Minister of Saudi HRH Prince Abdulaziz, for the most outstanding female athlete of the event.
Saudi Arabia Muay Thai Technical Official Seminar
Martial arts have received a major boost in Saudi Arabia with the Kingdom having been awarded the 2023 World Combat Games. The Saudi Arabian National Muaythai Federation just received full recognition by the National Olympic Committee and Sports Ministry and now together with IFMA, the world governing body, are working on strategic development work.
Important workshops and seminars have taken place with the openings held at the Saudi Arabian National Olympic Committee where all gyms and officials were invited by the NOC.
The Vice President of the National Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia, His Highness Prince Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdul Aziz opened the seminar outlining the importance of grass roots development being very much in line with Saudi Arabia’s vision 2030.
The President of Muaythai Saudi Arabia His Highness Prince Fahad Al Saud welcomed all the delegates and especially the IFMA General Secretary Mr. Stephan Fox, who made a detailed presentation on muaythai and IFMA from the past to the present and the future.
The 3-day workshop was led by Ajarn Chao sharing the cultural traditions and roots of the Wai Kru, Ajarn Thavorn leading a Referee and Judge workshop, Kru Petch leading the elite athletes and Chair of the IFMA Athletes’ Commission, Janice Lyn, leading the first female muaythai seminar in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Over 200 participants took part.
IFMA will continue to support each and every country with the best available educational programme towards a common goal to take muaythai to the highest recognition both as a sport and as a cultural artform.
Virtual Technical Workshop in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
A further, 3-day technical official workshop was held for all national referees of Saudi Arabia. This was also done in cooperation with the NOC and Sport Ministry. The workshop was opened by the CEO of the Saudi Arabian Muaythai Federation Abdulaziz Ibrahim Albnan who thanked the IFMA Technical Committee for this important workshop.
The Director of Saudi Muaythai Abdullah Alhazzaa thanked the IFMA team for putting the workshop together and IFMA Director Charissa Tynan gave a full update on upcoming events for the next two years while IFMA General Secretary Stephan Fox, presented IFMA’s responsibility as an IOC recognized organization and strong stance against match fixing and manipulation.
The Chairman of the IFMA Medical Commission Dr. Erdogan Aydin, made a presentation on the importance of health and well-being of the athletes especially with respect to weight cutting and IFMA’s strong policy to protect the athletes.
IFMA European ITO Chair Gunter Plank, was the head official for a briefing on IFMA Rules and Regulations and the importance of judges and referees for the safety of the athletes and IFMA’s Fair Play and Code of Conduct Policy.
Ajahn Thanong took over the last day as the head official of Lumpini Stadium and member of WMC Technical Commission. He took the participants through the WMC Rules and Regulations, differentiating between Round Robin and WMC Rules.
IFMA will continue to place emphasis on education for all IFMA stakeholders for the benefit of the athletes and Saudi Arabia has done outstanding work.
We would like to give a special thank you to WMC Director Andrew Scott and Muhammad Amr, member of IFMA Education Commission for coordinating these important seminars.
