London 28 August 2021: IMMAF President Kerrith Brown, CEO Densign White and Development Director Andrew Moshanov capped an extremely successful trip to Kyrgyzstan by meeting the President of the country, Sadyr Japarov, in the company of the senior management of the MMA Federation of Kyrgyzstan – IMMAF’s national affiliate there. President Brown was invited to meet the Kyrgyzstan president in his office to discuss the work IMMAF is carrying out to promote MMA globally and the potential for the sport’s growth in Kyrgyzstan.
IMMAF is delighted to announce that his excellency accepted the position of Honorary President of the MMA Federation of Kyrgyzstan. His certificate was presented by the newly elected president of the federation, Erkin Tentishev, and Mr Brown.
Many topics were covered throughout the meeting, including IMMAF’s ambitions, especially in the areas of youth development and the use of MMA for social good. President Japarov assured the IMMAF delegates that he will fully support all IMMAF initiatives in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, saying “I was a sportsman myself, and I know how important it is to support an athlete at the right time of their journey.”
President Japarov had had an extremely busy few days, meeting with the Olympians who clinched three medals at the Tokyo Olympics, the first time Olympic medals had been brought back to the country since the 2008 Games. While waiting to be introduced to President Japarov, the IMMAF delegates met some of the country’s sporting greats, including Kadimbek Osmonaliev, 1980 Olympic Champion in weightlifting and 2008 Silver medallist in wrestling.
As well during their visit, the IMMAF delegates attended the VI Open Championship of Kyrgyzstan in MMA, held to mark the 30th anniversary of Independence of the Kyrgyz Republic. The event, at the Gazprom complex played host to cadets, juniors and adult divisions. They participated in the opening ceremony of an International MMA Tournament on 24 August and Mr. Moshanov conducted an MMA coaches’ course. President Brown also appeared on national television to discuss mixed martial arts’ development in Kyrgyzstan and across the globe.
Following meetings with the management of the MMA Federation of Kyrgyzstan, the IMMAF delegation reported a strong appetite for more courses in the region as it continues to strengthen its structure around MMA. Plans have been set in motion to train and develop cut men, judges and referees through IMMAF’s certification programmes.
Before flying back to the UK, Kerrith Brown said:
“This has been a really fruitful visit and it was a privilege and pleasure to receive an invitation to meet President Japarov. It was so clear that President Japarov well understood the importance that MMA could play in sport and social development in his country and gave his full support to the new President of our affiliated federation. On IMMAF’s account, I was delighted to see that the efforts of our member federation to focus on youth development of MMA is receiving the backing of the highest political authority. On a personal level, it was also enjoyable to discuss my own background in Olympic sport since not only the President, but other members of his Cabinet, have experience of elite sport and an understanding of the role sport can play in civic society. Kyrgyzstan is a country of great potential and very much a sport loving country. IMMAF is excited to watch how Mixed Martial Arts continues to develop in the nation.” —- IMMAF
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.