GB Boxing becomes an Associate Member of World Boxing
GB Boxing has officially become an Associate Member of World Boxing, the new international sport federation established to keep boxing at the heart of the Olympic Movement.
It means GB Boxing will participate in World Boxing’s inaugural Congress in November 2023 where its representatives will be able to stand for election and, if successful, hold office.
GB Boxing does not have voting rights at the Congress as it is not a national governing body (NGB) as its role is to manage Great Britain’s elite, World Class Programme (WCP) and take the team to tournaments, such as the European Games and the Olympic Games, where boxers from England, Scotland and Wales compete as Great Britain.
Along with GB Boxing, World Boxing also announced that USA Boxing, New Zealand Boxing, Boxing Australia, England Boxing and the Dutch Boxing Federation have been granted full membership status.
All six countries completed a rigorous application process and have been approved as members by the Executive Board of World Boxing.
The application process was overseen by World Boxing’s Secretary General, Simon Toulson, and designed to ensure all applicants are deemed to be in good standing and, through their statutes and operating processes, able to demonstrate:
- A transparent and open election process for the appointment of office bearing roles
- The existence and operation of WADA-recognised anti-doping polices and processes
- Evidence of a structured, dispute resolution and appeals process that is either fully independent or subject to external input
- Formal recognition by either their National Olympic Committee (NOC) or Ministry for Sport
The Chair of GB Boxing’s Board of Directors, Jason Glover, said: “GB Boxing has played a significant role in helping to establish World Boxing and we are very proud to have been announced as one of its first members.
“We look forward to working with World Boxing and all current and future members to create an organisation that puts the interest of boxers first and operates with rigorous governance practices designed to deliver fairness and sporting integrity.
“Becoming a member is a sign of our long-term commitment to World Boxing and our desire to make a positive contribution to the future development of the sport and ensure boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic Movement.”
GB Boxing was set-up in 2008 (following the Beijing Olympics) to manage the UK’s publicly funded, WCP for boxing and has enjoyed a period of unprecedented success which has seen male and female boxers from Great Britain win 14 medals at three Olympic Games.
World Boxing was launched in April 2023 and aims to ensure that boxing remains at the heart of the Olympic movement. It will seek recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and plans to work constructively and collaboratively to develop a pathway that will preserve boxing’s ongoing place on the Olympic competition programme at Los Angeles 2028 and beyond.
Further information on World Boxing is available at www.worldboxing.org.