A long-discussed nonprofit body aimed at furthering MMA around the globe, including recognition at the Olympics, is now a reality.
International Mixed Martial Arts Federation officials today announced via press release the official launch of the new organization, which is based in Sweden and aims to assist in the governing of the amateur game.
The company's online home, IMMAF.org, outlines the federation's goals, which fall in line with some of those UFC exec Marc Ratner recently discussed on MMAjunkie.com Radio. And while it's not yet known exactly how much support the new organization will receive, MMAjunkie.com has confirmed that IMMAF officials will be on hand at today's UFC on FUEL TV 2 press conference in Stockholm.
Prior to the conference, the UFC issued a press release in support of the federation, with UFC Senior VP of Government and Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner calling it "long overdue." However, officials didn't specify exactly how the UFC will support the IMMAF.
"Mixed martial arts (MMA) is often referred to as the world's fastest growing sport," the company's official website reads. "Its popularity is constantly increasing and the possibilities for development of MMA are endless. In order to harness all this potential there is a need for a common point of reference, a democratic body to organize and drive the development of the sport on a worldwide basis.
"It is in response to this that the IMMAF was founded with the purpose to further the development and recognition of the sport of mixed martial arts, enabling international competition through the organization of national MMA federations around the world."
Swedish website Kimura.se first announced the formation of the new federation.
The IMMAF launches with an interim board of five members, which include president August Wallen – the former head of the Swedish MMA Federation – as well as Bertrand Amoussou, George Sallfeldt, Robbie Olivier, Carl Otto Knudsen and Tom Madsen. The federation's statutes express the board shall "consist of minimum five to maximum nine members."
The IMMAF also promises to remain a democratic, nonprofit organization.
"IMMAF is a democratic organization based on the foundation of open, honest and collaborative practices," the IMMAF's promise reads. "This applies to everything from elections and governance to everyday tasks and discourse.
"IMMAF is a nonprofit organization driven by the purpose of developing MMA as a sport, not the demands of return on investment. Our books are open for anyone to see."
Consistent application of rule sets and safety measures are among the IMMAF's key goals, as well as the establishment of potential world championships. But likely most-interesting to MMA fans is the the federation's vision to bring the sport the the Olympics.
"Our vision is for MMA to be recognized as a sport through the full membership of IMMAF in SportAccord and ultimately become an Olympic sport," the IMMAF's vision reads. "Becoming an Olympic sport is the ultimate achievement and highest formal recognition possible for any sport. Hence that is what the IMMAF will strive towards.
"A membership in SportAccord is in itself a sizable achievement that will provide MMA with a strong platform as well as take the sport one step closer to gaining Olympic status. We see that the challenges for MMA are great today, but so are the opportunities, and the IMMAF should not have any lesser ambition for MMA than this."
The IMMAF is expected to work with other governing bodies around the globe, as well as to offer support to countries hoping to form such committees. The IMMAF hopes to grow membership to 25 countries by the end of 2012.
Important to note, the established guidelines would apply only to amateur competitors unless the new committees elected to apply those rules to the professional ranks. Also of interest, IMMAF officials told MMAjunkie.com the federation is not interested in dictating a set of rules to follow but rather working with member committees to find "best practices" as the sport of MMA continues to develop.
The IMMAF is an autonomous, nonprofit organization and will be funded solely on donations. Initially there will be no fees for member federations.
"This is a very proud day for us," Wallen said in a official release. "The IMMAF is committed to be at the forefront of developing MMA as an international sport, from the grassroots level to the elite level, supporting the development of regulations and best practices on health, safety, youth involvement and more.â€
"Our vision is for MMA to be recognized as a sport through the full membership of IMMAF in SportAccord and for it to ultimately become an Olympic sport. I know many of us dedicated to MMA dream of the day that the sport has worldwide recognition and this is a first step towards making that happen."
