The International Federation of Muaythai Associations, or IFMA, called the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur until 27 July 2019, is the sole recognised

sport governing body A sports governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sports governing bodies come in various forms and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule i ...

of amateur and professional

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterise ...

and Muay boran consisting of 130 member countries worldwide with 5 continental federations after unification of International Federation of Muaythai Amateur and

World Muaythai Council The World Muaythai Council (WMC) is one of the oldest and the largest professional sanctioning organizations of Muaythai in the world for the sport. The organization was set up in 1995 by parliament resolution, and is incorporated by the Royal T ...

. IFMA is officially recognised by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

(IOC), the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), the

Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations The Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation constituted through and recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The ARISF's members are international sports ...

(ARISF), the

Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. The current Acting President is Raja Randhir Singh, substituting Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah. The headquarters ...

(OCA),

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...

(WADA)

International World Games Association The International World Games Association, abbreviated as IWGA, is an international association, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that organises every four years, beginning in 1981, the multi-sport event called The World Ga ...

(IWGA), and Trim and Fitness International Sport for All Association (TAFISA). Muaythai has been included in many official sport programs such as the

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

World Combat Games The World Combat Games is an international multi-sport event featuring combat sports and martial arts. The games were founded by SportAccord (now known as the Global Association of International Sports Federations) as a way of bringing various m ...

Arafura Games The Arafura Games is a unique, inclusive multi-sport event where athletes with a disability compete in the same program as able-bodied athletes. Competitors from around the world compete in the week-long games held every 2 years in Darwin, Northe ...

, TAFISA Games,

SEA Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games The Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (abbreviated as AIMAG) is a pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. It is organised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and consists of Indoor and martia ...

Asian Beach Games The Asian Beach Games, also known as ABG, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The Games are described as the second or third largest ...

, Demonstration Sport in the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

History

The International Federation of Muaythai Associations (IFMA) was officially inaugurated in 1993 as the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur, a small federation with several enthusiastic member countries. IFMA has grown to 128 member countries worldwide with 5 continental federations under a single, unified regulatory body. In 1998, IFMA was formally recognized by the Olympic Council of Asia. IFMA's objective is the total unification of all 128 member national federations, working mutually for the sport and the athletes. The enthusiasm and commitment of the members, boxers and officials is one of the greatest assets that IFMA brings to the ancient sport of Muaythai. Agreement between FISU and IFMA

At the IFMA Royal World Cup in Bangkok the AIMS conference took place gathering all 23 presidents from its members as well as representatives of IOC, FISU, IWGA, Peace and Sport, TAFISA and many others

The 2015 IFMA Royal World Cup displayed the rapid popularity of women competing in muaythai as the stadium quickly reached capacity during female bouts that displayed courage and hear

93 countries participated in this event. In December 2015 AIMS received provisional recognition by the IOC. The following year in December 2016 at the annual meeting of the IOC Executive Board, Muaythai with IFMA as the governing body, was granted provisional IOC recognition for a period of three years. This allows IFMA to receive funding from the IOC and apply for development programmes.

Timeline

Some of IFMA's milestones: * 1993 – Inauguration of International Federation of Muaythai Amateur (IFMA). * 1995 – Provisional inclusion in the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

(SEA Games). * 1998 – Inclusion as a demonstration sport in the

. * 1999 – Recognition from the

(OCA). * 2005 – Inclusion in the

(SEA Games) as a fully recognised medal sport. * 2005 – Inclusion in the

Asian Indoor Games The Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (abbreviated as AIMAG) is a pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. It is organised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and consists of Indoor and martial ...

(AIG). * 2006 – Recognition from the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). * 2008 – Inclusion in the Trim and Fitness International Sport for All Association (TAFISA) Games and as a full member of the TAFISA Sport for All Organization. * 2008 – Inclusion in the

. * 2009 – Inclusion in the Asian Martial Arts Games (AMAG). * 2010 – Inclusion in the GAISF World Combat Games. * 2013 – Inclusion in the International World Games Association (

IWGA The International World Games Association, abbreviated as IWGA, is an international association, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that organises every four years, beginning in 1981, the multi-sport event called The World ...

) * 2013 – Inclusion in the

(AIMAG). * 2014 – Inclusion in the

. * 2015 –

International University Sports Federation The Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU, en, International University Sports Federation) is responsible for the organization and governance of worldwide sports competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 25 ...

(FISU) gives its patronage for University Muaythai Cup. * 2015 – International University Sports Federation (FISU) has officially recognised muaythai signing the agreement between FISU and IFMA. * 2016 – Provisional recognition from the

. * 2019 – Fully recognition from the

. * 2019 – Unification with

(WMC) and rebranded to International Federation of Muaythai Associations (IFMA).

IOC recognition

On December 6, 2016, the IOC Executive Board had provisionally recognised muaythai following an executive board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Governance

Executive committee

President’s Advisory Council

Commissions

Area associations

International Federation of Muaythai Associations has a total of 122 member federations divided into 5 area associations. : EMF – European Muaythai Federation in Europe : FAMA – Federation of Asian Muaythai Associations in Asia : ''TBD'' – ''African Continental Association'' in Africa : OMF – Oceania Muaythai Federation in Oceania : PAMU – Pan American Muaythai Union in America

Events

International

Continental

Professional rankings

Men's divisions

Women's divisions

Criticism

The Ukrainian and Finnish national teams boycotted the 2022 IFMA youth world championships held in Malaysia due to IFMA reversing their decision of not allowing the Russian and Belarusian national teams to participate in the competition.

References

External links

Official IFMA site
{{DEFAULTSORT:International Federation of Muaythai Amateur Amateur Muay Thai organizations Professional Muay Thai organizations Organizations based in Bangkok Sports organizations established in 1993 1993 establishments in Thailand

Muaythai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

Sports governing bodies in Thailand International organizations based in Thailand Muay Sports world rankings