The first World Boxing Congress of the World Boxing is taking place today and tomorrow at the Mainarcaden Venue in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. © World Boxing

World Boxing will gather in Frankfurt this Saturday for the World Congress, where the elected positions of President, Vice President and seats on the Executive Committee will be decided, as well as the Presidents of the Sport and Competition Committee, the Medical and Anti-Doping Committee and the Finance and Audit Committee.

World Boxing, a collective born only last April, is embarking on a completely new journey. This weekend's agenda also includes the formal approval of the World Boxing's Statutes, the formal approval of National Federation applications for membership and associate membership of World Boxing, and the approval of World Boxing's strategic plan and budget.

The project, which was launched in April and is sponsored by the United States and the United Kingdom, currently has 27 member federations. The national federations attending this weekend's congress have joined over time. The collective has taken advantage of the uncertainty created by the decision of the International Olympic Committee  (IOC) to disauthorize the International Boxing Association (IBA) as the sport's governing body, thus removing boxing from the Olympic Movement.

World Boxing selects its president and top officials today. © W. B.
World Boxing selects its president and top officials today. © W. B.

There are still doubts about the inclusion of this discipline in the Olympic Games, and it will participate in Paris 2024 under the governance of the Games themselves. The IOC has yet to make a statement on the matter, and just a few weeks ago the IBA the IBA held a conference in Paris to explain that the immediate future of the issue is still unknown. In this context, IBA President Umar Kremlev stated, "If boxing leaves the Olympic Games, the Olympic Games will lose," clearly indicating that boxing will continue to grow, and that all strategies for its development will be enhanced.

Meanwhile, World Boxing's policy is also to grow, but in hiw own way, the way is started in April. Frankfurt was specifically chosen as the venue for the first Congress of this innovative association because of its historical significance as the birthplace of the German democratic movement and the place (Frankfurter Nationalversammlung) where the first freely elected parliament for all German states met in May 1848.

All National Federations affiliated to World Boxing that have received more than 40 nominations can participate in the Congress and vote in the elections. Its members will have two or three votes depending on their compliance with the voting rules detailed in the World Boxing Statutes. The elections will be supervised by an independent and experienced organisation.