The official presentation of the 2019 EKF Karate Championships was held on Monday, March 25th in Guadalajara (Spain). As the local authorities showed their support to the tournament, Karate representatives demonstrated their unity ahead of the many challenges that the sport is facing.
WKF and EKF President Antonio Espinós headed the official presentation of the 54th edition of the continental tournament which took place in the town hall of Guadalajara. The Spanish Karate Federation president Antonio Moreno and the mayor of the host city Antonio Roman attended the event. The complete Spanish delegation also participated in the presentation.
“The best European karatekas will be in Guadalajara this week. Also, 51 out of the 53 European national federations will be represented at the event which means that the whole European Karate will take part in the tournament. There are not so many sports that can showcase this level of engagement at every level. Wherever we go, we demonstrate our strength,” said WKF and EKF President Antonio Espinós.
“Our federation is going through never-seen progress, which unfortunately goes together with one of our biggest dramas. The exclusion of our sport from the list of Paris 2024 was highly unexpected and it was very unfair. We will never stop fighting, and we will do everything in our hands to revert this decision. When you fall, you must get back up. We have done this many times over in the past, and we will do it again because we are proud of our sport,” added the head of Karate’s international governing body, who also recognized the great support of the Spanish Karate Federation in these momentous times.
“I sincerely hope that Karate will continue being an Olympic sport in Paris 2024. We are really looking forward to making our debut in Tokyo, and I am sure that we will demonstrate there how great our sport is. But we don’t want to see our Olympic dreams dying in Tokyo,” said the Spanish Karate Federation President Antonio Moreno after thanking the local authorities for their contribution to the organization of the event.
“I am convinced that this tournament will be highly successful. In Guadalajara, we work very hard to make all the events that are being organized here a huge success, and I am sure that all the athletes coming to our city will find the best conditions to show the greatness of this sport,” stated the mayor of Guadalajara Antonio Roman.
