The Executive Board of World Boxing has endorsed six new membership applications from the National Federations for boxing in Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia, Kuwait and Yemen.
To secure the endorsement of the Executive Board, all six National Federations have completed a rigorous application process and 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; showcase the existence and operation of WADA-recognsied anti-doping polices and processes; and provide evidence of a structured, dispute resolution and appeals process that is either fully independent or subject to external input.
The seven new National Federation members are:
1. Chad Boxing Federation
2. Congolese Boxing Federation
3. Ethiopian Boxing Federation
4. Liberia Boxing Federation
5. Kuwait Federation of Boxing
6. Yemen Boxing Federation
The endorsements expand World Boxing’s footprint in Africa and mean that globally it currently has 184 member National Federations that are able to compete in its competitions, made-up of 122 ‘Full Members’, one ‘Associate Member’ and 61 ‘Endorsed Members’.
World Boxing previously had 180 members, but one of these National Federations has had its membership suspended and one has been cancelled.
Ecuador was suspended after an agreement that was not implemented. Following a letter informing it of the suspension, the National Federation for Ecuador took action and is holding a General Assembly in September which is expected to resolve the situation.
The endorsement of membership that was made to the National Federation in Cameroon in April 2026 has been cancelled as further analysis of the documents submitted did not fulfil the requirements of membership. The NOC and the Ministry of Sports in Cameroon are working together to develop a new application that is expected to be submitted in the near future.
Under World Boxing Statutes HERE the six new National Federations have ‘Endorsed Member’ status which means they are able to compete in World Boxing competitions but cannot vote at Congress 2026 as they do not have ‘Full Member’ status.
‘Full Member’ status can only be conferred by Congress, which is the ultimate authority of World Boxing, and will be voted on at the next World Boxing Congress in Panama on 20 November 2026. ‘Endorsed Members’ that are successful in having their membership applications ratified at this Congress and become ‘Full Members’ will be able to vote at the following year’s Congress in 2027 and all those thereafter.
A directory of World Boxing’s members is HERE.
World Boxing was launched in April 2023. It held its first formal meeting with the IOC in May 2024 and on 25 February 2025, it was granted provisional recognition by the IOC as the International Federation (IF) within the Olympic Movement governing the sport of boxing at world level.