The IJF Executive Committee decided not to organise a Grand Prix in Zagreb in November and suspend the IFF World Judo Tour for 2020.
After a short return to competitions with the Grand Slam Hungary at the end of October, the IJF hoped that at least another World Judo Tour Event could be organised before the end of the year.
Unfortunately, the global health crisis is worsening in most parts of the world and at the moment more and more countries are obliged to take drastic measures.
There are even complete lockdowns to stop the spreading of the Covid-19 virus. In these conditions, where events are forbidden and venues unavailable, the IJF decided that no other World Judo Tour events shall be organised this year.
IJF President Marius Vizer:
“It is a hard decision to take, especially after such a successful and joyful event as the Hungary Grand Slam was a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, we can see most countries of the world fighting hard to prevent the pandemic from getting out of hands and the safety of the Judo Family comes first.”
“Once again, we must be resilient and respect the efforts of Governments in order to preserve the safety of the global population. The IJF Team will now focus on organising the Qatar Masters in January and we hope that we will be able to bring together the international judo community in Doha, to mark a fresh start of judo in 2021, with the best athletes of the world competing for Olympic qualification.”
