End clap for the third edition of the World Combat Sports Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (October 20 to 30). The multisport event, the first organized at the international level by the Saudi kingdom, concluded on Monday October 30 with a closing ceremony at the King Saud University Arena. In the front row of guests, the Italian Ivo Ferriani, president of SportAccord, and Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, vice-president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (photo above).
Stephan Fox, the vice-president of SportAccord in charge of the World Combat Sports Games, spoke about it for FrancsJeux the results and the prospects.
FrancsJeux : What assessment do you draw from this third edition, organized ten years after the previous one?
Stephanie Fox : The event was incredible. From all points of view. A very nice atmosphere between the athletes, marked by a lot of respect. A single venue for all competitions, ideal for spectators who were able to easily switch from one sport to another. Finally, very high level organization and production.
What can this event bring to Saudi Arabia and its ambition to become a hub of the international sports movement?
I was present in Saudi Arabia when the kingdom's 2030 vision was announced. The World Combat Sports Games have just demonstrated that it is not just a formula. It is already a reality. In boxing, Saudi women won three gold medals. A few years earlier, such a result would have been unthinkable. Sport plays a big role in the evolution of the country and society, particularly in terms of inclusion and equality. What the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee has accomplished over the past three years has arguably never been done anywhere else in the world. It has gone from 32 national member federations to 90 today. They all have female participation. With these World Combat Sports Games, Saudi Arabia opened up to the world, and at the same time the world came to Saudi Arabia.
These World Games were open to the participation of para athletes in six of the 16 sports on the program. Is this a new path for the sports movement?
It was a first for an international multi-sport event. The vision of these World Games was to promote inclusion, in the broadest sense of the term. Logistically, it was not simple. But we did it and we proved that inclusion is possible in a major sporting event. The opening ceremony was the same for everyone, the medal table included the Paralympic disciplines. I'm pretty sure that, in the future, the Saudi model of inclusion will be copied by other major event organizations.
Was the format presented this year in Riyadh the right one?
It can always be improved. But the number of sports will remain the same for the next edition. We will stay at sixteen. But we will perhaps reduce the number of disciplines, and therefore athletes, by focusing on disciplines where the event can attract the best in the world. In wrestling, for example, not all disciplines are Olympic. For wrestlers not involved in the Olympic event, the World Combat Sports Games represent the summit, the best that can be done. In the current format, participation amounts to 1.800 athletes. It may be necessary to reduce, in particular to reduce organizational costs.
How does the sequel look? The next edition?
The idea is to have World Combat Sports Games every two years. But maybe with different versions. A smaller edition in 2025, for example, then a larger one two years later, in a pre-Olympic year. In Riyadh, this year, we took advantage of the event to test in the Olympic disciplines the technology that will be used next year at the Paris 2024 Games. The Swiss Timing teams were present to conduct tests. Keeping a large edition the year before the Olympic Games therefore makes complete sense.
Do you already have candidates for the following editions?
We have six. The event is proving very popular, particularly in martial arts countries. Brazil, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Southeast Asia with Thailand, Japan as part of the legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Games… We are talking to a large number of interested countries.
When will you announce the host country for the next edition?
Next year, probably in April. And the event will take place during the second half of 2025, so as not to compete with the continental championships. The organizing country will then have 16 to 18 months to prepare. This is a very sufficient time frame.
