FUJAIRAH, UAE (May 9, 2025) - The World Taekwondo Council today met prior to the World Taekwondo Cadet Championships in Fujairah, UAE, and elected a series of future hosts to establish an extensive competition calendar through to 2027.
World Taekwondo Grand Prix hosts were decided for 2026 and 2027, providing important opportunities for athletes as part of the qualifying process for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Next year’s World Taekwondo Grand Prix will feature events in Rome, Italy (Grand Prix 1); Muju, Korea (Grand Prix 2); and Paris, France (Grand Prix 3) before the Grand Prix Final and World Taekwondo Gala Awards in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Rome (Grand Prix 1), Paris (Grand Prix 2) and Manchester, Great Britain (Grand Prix 3) have been confirmed as hosts for World Taekwondo Grand Prix events in 2027, followed by the Grand Prix Final and Gala Awards in Taian, China.
In 2027, Muju will also host World Taekwondo Grand Prix Challenge 3, which offers a pathway to Grand Prix qualification and is open to a wider pool of athletes under the fairer and more dynamic Olympic ranking points system introduced by World Taekwondo for LA28.
These cities are all proven hosts of outstanding Taekwondo events, and each presented their impressive plans to the World Taekwondo Council before receiving approval.
Among the other events allocated were the 2026 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships to Chuncheon, Korea which faced competition from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The 2026 World Taekwondo Junior Championships was awarded to Tashkent, Uzbekistan overcoming a rival bid from Chongqing, China, and Athens, Greece was elected as host of the 2027 World Taekwondo Cadet Championships ahead of Pune, India.
This year’s World Taekwondo Women's Open Championships were granted to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, and the 2026 edition to Taiyuan, China.
Nairobi, Kenya will host the 2025 World Taekwondo Under-21 Championships.
World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue said: “Today’s event allocations by the World Taekwondo Council demonstrate the global strength of Taekwondo and secure world-class hosts for our athletes to compete.
“Congratulations to all bidding MNAs. We look forward to attending the wonderful events in your countries.”
At the beginning of today’s meeting, World Taekwondo Council members observed a moment of silence in memory of His Holiness Pope Francis and Grandmaster Young Ghil Park, former Chair of the World Taekwondo Poomsae Committee.
World Taekwondo Vice-President Kyu Seok Lee was also appointed as World Taekwondo Honorary Vice-President, effective from when he retires as Asian Taekwondo Union President on July 24, recognising his lifelong dedication to the sport. President Choue presented President Lee with a plaque of appreciation.
During his report, President Choue welcomed the newest members of the World Taekwondo Council in Felicite Rwemarika, IOC Member in Rwanda and Olympic Refuge Foundation Board Member, and Shaddad Alamri of Saudi Arabia.
The World Taekwondo Council additionally approved the updated World Taekwondo Election Bylaws, amendments to the World Taekwondo Disciplinary Actions and Appeals Code, and recommendations from an Ad-Hoc Committee on amendments to Competition Rules & Interpretation.
Amendments to the World Taekwondo Event Operation Rules and Virtual Taekwondo Rules and Regulations were approved, along with the Regulations on the Virtual Taekwondo Match Operator.
The World Taekwondo Council also approved the recommendations of the Member Relations and Development (MRD) Commission to suspend the MNAs of Mexico and Costa Rica, in order to establish interim management boards in consultation and cooperation with the respective local sports authorities. These interim boards will oversee certain aspects of the MNAs’ operations during the suspension period. The suspension of the Mexico MNA follows statutory and governance concerns related to its election process last year, while the Costa Rica MNA was suspended in light of serious safeguarding concerns.
World Taekwondo Secretary General Jeongkang Seo made operational report on WT’s financial statements of the year 2024, development programs for stakeholders amounted to USD 2 million and the results of e-votes.
The World Taekwondo Cadet Championships will take place in Fujairah from 10-14 May, featuring more than 800 athletes aged 12-14 from 89 MNAs, AIN athletes and the Refugee Team.
