“Karate is on the right track” – CIFP chief

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Karate is on the right track

Dr. Jeno Kamuti, the President of the International Fair Play Committee (more commonly known as CIFP – Comite International pour le Fair Play) mentioned these words at a special ceremony held by the CIFP in Wroclaw during the World Games, in honour of World Karate head Mr. Antonio Espinos at which the WKF President was awarded the World Fair Play award.

This was to recognize Mr. Espino’s substantial contribution to taking the sport to new levels on the world map under his able leadership of 20 years and feeding honourable principles into the sport and expanding the fairness by making and developing the laws of the sport. It is important to note that this award to the WKF head comes at a time in which Karate is gaining momentum with being recognized by the Olympics Committee to be a sport eligible to take part in the Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be its first.  

The International fair Play Committee is an international not for profit non-governmental organization that works towards the development and recognition of “sportsmanship” and it presents awards annually at the World Fair Play Awards recognizing acts of fair play and sportsmanship integrity by sportspeople, teams or organizations.

The CIFP was established in 1963 by a conglomerate of international organizations such as the FIFA and UNESCO and Eugenio Monti an Italian bobsleigher received the first award for an act he did during his event in the 1964 Winter Olympics. Since 1965 there has been three types of awards which are the Pierre de Coubertin World Fair Play Trophy awarded for gestures of fair play to which an athlete impedes his own performance to aid a fellow competitor; the Jean Borotra World Fair Play Trophy awarded to athletes who have displayed fair play throughout their careers and the Willie Daume World Fair Play Trophy awarded to persons or organizations which have promoted the spirit of fair play.

Further to these annual trophies, the CIFP gives out diplomas and letters of congratulations to other sportspeople and organizations who have shown exceptional good sportsmanship.