IWF is now member of the Global Esports Federation

The IWF is pleased to announce that its membership to the Global Esports Federation (GEF) has been accepted and the Sport of weightlifting is now part of this exciting new family. The IWF application request was made in the final days of July and on August 1, the GEF President Chris Chan confirmed the membership status of our International Federation.

“I would like to warmly welcome the IWF into the Global Esports Family. We are greatly honoured to have IWF as a Member of the GEF,” Mr Chan wrote in his letter.

Mr José Quiñones, IWF Executive Board Member and President of the Pan-American Weightlifting Federation, and Mr Achilleas Tsogas, IWF CEO, will be the two weightlifting representatives in the GEF working group of International Federations (IFAC).

“We truly believe that the input and support of the IWF to this focus group will be instrumental,” also stated Mr Chan.

Photo credit: globalesports.org

In charge of the promotion, support and development of the worldwide esports eco-system, the GEF has presently 180 members in the five continents. With a mission to cultivate competition along with developing communities and the connection between sport, esports and technology, the GEF celebrates the universality of global esports through the staging of international, continental, and events throughout the year. The annual Global Esports Games is the flagship event for the Global Esports Federation.

Photo credit: globalesports.org

“This is really an exciting new path for our International Federation. In 2025, we celebrate our 120 years, but our aim is to remain always innovative and ‘young’. The membership to the GEF is a privileged platform to present our Sport in another dimension, thus generating and motivating more fans around the globe. The possibilities offered by new technologies are already re-shaping the way we are practicing sport, so let’s write, together, another page in our brilliant history! We are also happy to see that the IOC is also embracing these new developments,” considered the IWF President Mohammed Jalood.

At its Session, some days before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris, the IOC announced that the end of 2025 will see the organisation of the first-ever Olympic Esports Games, in Saudi Arabia.  

IWF Communications