WKF President Antonio Espinós travelled to Dubai this week to attend the ratification of the memorandum of understanding of organisation of the 2020 Karate World Championships. The agreement signed by the United Arab Emirates Karate Federation and the Dubai Sports Council launched Karate's biggest event to take place in the Emirate city in 2020.

WKF President Antonio Espinós travelled to Dubai this week to attend the ratification of the memorandum of understanding of the organisation of the 2020 Karate World Championships. The agreement signed by the United Arab Emirates Karate Federation and the Dubai Sports Council launched Karate's biggest event to take place in the Emirate city in 2020.

“The World Championships are our biggest event, and the 2020 edition will be even bigger because the International Olympic Committee will meet towards the end of that year to decide the list of sports to be d in the programme of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. So, delivering the perfect World Championships in Dubai, along with our performance at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo will be crucial,” said WKF President Antonio Espinós at the event. 

“This MoU is a reflection of Karate's global appeal as governments, cities and National Federations forces to host our top events,” added Mr. Espinós.

“We are fully committed to engaging with all our stakeholders to ensure the best possible organisation for our tournaments. I am sure that the 2020 Karate World Championships will be memorable with the combined efforts and hard work of all the members of the Karate family,” declared the head of the WKF. 

The event of the signing of the MoU had the participation of Mr. Espinós, as well as the secretary general of Dubai Sports Council Saeed Hareb, and UAE Karate Federation president Nasser Abdulrazaq Alrazooqi. 

"It is going to be a very important edition of the Karate World Championships and being chosen to host this special event only confirms Dubai's position as one of the preferred destinations for the world's top sporting events,” said Mr. Hareb at the press conference. 

"The presence of these top athletes will be a boost for karate in the UAE, inspiring our youngsters to take up this fantastic sport, which is not just a means of staying physically active but is also hugely beneficial on the mental side, improving your focus, discipline, mental toughness and confidence”, he added. 

The WKF delegation headed by Mr. Espinós took part in a series of meetings to set the guidelines of cooperation among all the parties involved in the project and to outline the main principles of organisation of the 2020 World Championships.