GAISF President Raffaele Chiulli, right, has held discussions with SAOC head Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal Al-Saud to discuss the 2023 World Combat Games in Riyadh ©GAISF

Discussions between Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and the Saudi Arabia Olympic Committee (SAOC) about the 2023 World Combat Games in Riyadh have taken place.

GAISF President Raffaele Chiulli and vice-president Stephan Fox held talks with Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal Al-Saud, head of the SAOC, to assess preparations for the event showcasing combat sports and martial arts.

The World Combat Games made their debut at Beijing 2010 when it featured boxing, judo, ju-jitsu, karate, kendo, kickboxing, sanshou, Muay Thai, sambo, sumo, taekwondo, wrestling, wushu, and an aikido demonstration.

The Games were held again at Saint Petersburg in 2013 when fencing and savate were added to the programme.

GAISF signed an agreement with the event to be staged in Chinese Taipei in 2019 but lack of time to organise the event saw it shelved.

In 2019 GAISF signed an agreement for Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan's capital city, to host the Games.

The World Combat Games were last held at Saint Petersburg in 2013 ©SportAccord
The World Combat Games were last held at Saint Petersburg in 2013 ©SportAccord

But again, lack of time combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, meant the Games were abandoned.

In May, GAISF announced that Riyadh had agreed to host the event in 2023 featuring 15 combat sports and martial arts.

"Today’s meeting with the President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee to discuss plans for the 2023 edition of the World Combat Games was very productive," Chiulli said.

"We took the opportunity to discuss a number of key priorities for the event that will benefit the 15 combat sports and martial arts which are GAISF Members.

"We look forward to continuing this ongoing cooperation in the months ahead."