Approved Strategic Plan, 2027 budget and competition calendar set World Boxing’s direction towards LA28
Budva, Montenegro, 26 October 2026 — The World Boxing Executive Board has approved a Strategic Plan for 2026–2029 and a series of key measures covering financial planning, the international competition calendar, membership and preparations for the World Boxing Congress, as the federation moves into the next phase of its development and towards the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.
The hybrid meeting was chaired by World Boxing President Gennadiy Golovkin in Budva, where the World Boxing U19 World Championships are currently taking place, and comes less than a month before the World Boxing Congress in Panama on 20 November.
At the centre of the meeting was the approval of the World Boxing Strategic Plan 2026–2029, which will guide the federation’s work over the next three years. The plan is structured around four main pillars — Athletes First, Integrity, Innovation, and Financial Stability & Development with safeguarding boxing’s Olympic future running across all areas of the strategy.
It places particular emphasis on strengthening athlete representation and welfare, improving governance and competition integrity, developing education and technology, and creating a financially sustainable structure capable of supporting member federations and athletes worldwide.
Among the priorities set out in the plan are the development of an elected Athletes’ Council with continental representation, strengthened safeguarding and athlete welfare programmes, expanded education for athletes, coaches and officials, further development of technology and digital services, and a long-term programme to grow and diversify World Boxing’s revenues.
World Boxing President Gennadiy Golovkin said:
“Seeing so many young athletes competing at the U19 World Championships is a good reminder of what our work is ultimately about. We want to build a strong federation that gives athletes opportunities, protects fair competition and creates the right conditions for boxing to grow in every part of the world. The Strategic Plan gives us a clear direction for the next stage, with athletes at the centre, stronger integrity and governance, more investment in education and development, and a greater use of innovation to improve our sport. But a strategy only matters if we deliver it. The important part now is to turn these priorities into real work and results that athletes and our National Federations can see and feel. We have an important period ahead of us, with Congress, the start of Olympic qualification in 2027 and Los Angeles 2028 getting closer. We know where we want to go, and we need to keep moving forward together.”
The Executive Board also approved the proposed 2027 budget for submission to Congress, alongside an update on World Boxing’s financial position. The federation has continued to 2
strengthen its financial footing during 2026. The independent statutory examination of World Boxing’s 2025 financial statements noted that the improvement in the organisation’s financial position continued through the first half of 2026 and, based on the interim position at 30 June, World Boxing was no longer over-indebted.
World Boxing Secretary General Tom Dielen said:
“We have spent the last few years building World Boxing very quickly. The focus now is on making sure the federation has the systems, financial strength and operational capacity to deliver consistently at the level expected of an International Federation. The progress in our financial position is important, but so is what we do with that stability. The 2027 budget gives us a stronger basis to invest in competitions, athlete and member services, technical development and the qualification pathway to Los Angeles 2028. At the same time, the approved competition calendar gives National Federations much greater visibility of what is coming, while the Strategic Plan gives us a clear framework against which we can measure delivery. Congress in Panama will be another important step. We are putting a number of governance and competition matters before our members, and after that the focus moves very quickly to Astana and the start of Olympic qualification. There is a lot to deliver, but we are entering 2027 from a much stronger position than we were a year ago.”
The Board also approved the 2027–2028 international competition calendar, providing the framework for World Boxing’s major events during the period leading into LA28 and greater certainty for National Federations as they plan their international programmes.
The Olympic qualification period will run from 1 April 2027 to 31 May 2028, beginning with the 2027 World Boxing Championships in Astana, where the first 44 athlete quota places for LA28 will be allocated. The pathway will then continue through five Continental Qualification Tournaments in Guiyang, China (Asia); Istanbul, Türkiye, as part of the European Games; Accra, Ghana (Africa); Apia, Samoa (Oceania); and Ontario, California, USA (Pan America), which together will allocate a further 112 quota places. Two World Qualification Tournaments will complete the pathway in 2028, with the first scheduled for Rome, Italy, and the second for Budapest, Hungary, before the qualification period closes on 31 May 2028.
Preparations for the World Boxing Congress in Panama were another important focus of the meeting. The Executive Board reviewed election-related matters, voting rights and proposed changes that will be presented to the membership.
Membership growth also continued, with the Executive Board endorsing the Angolan Boxing Federation and the Fédération Burkinabé de Boxe for Membership in 2027, subject to final approval by Congress. The endorsement of the Fédération Burkinabé de Boxe remains subject to the establishment of an independent dispute-resolution mechanism in accordance with World Boxing’s membership requirements.
The Executive Board also reviewed a range of sporting and organisational matters, including the continued development and performance of Technical Officials, equipment standards and licensing, staff development and World Boxing’s communications approach towards LA28.
The World Boxing Congress will take place in Panama on 20 November 2026.