‘The time is right for a single federation’

Combat sports in the Netherlands are ready to set up one strong combat sports federation. The era of fragmentation and division is over, according to VA chair Herbert Dekkers and managing director Farid Gamei in a joint interview in the newspaper De Telegraaf today. “Within a year there should be one federation, and it would be best if we were no longer needed after that.”

De Telegraaf sports editor Lars van Soest took stock of five years of the Vechtsportautoriteit (Combat Sports Authority) together with the VA management. He describes the state of combat sports before the regulator was set up. It was not good. “Brawls, sometimes even a shooting, money laundering practices and serious criminals in the front row. More and more municipalities refused to grant organisers a permit. The sport seemed to be dying a quiet death.” Under the supervision of a regulator, kickboxing, Thai boxing and MMA were given a final chance to put their affairs in order. Far more structure was introduced and a number of urgent problems were addressed. Now it is time to look ahead, the VA representatives state.

At present there are nine small federations in the Netherlands in the field of kickboxing, Thai boxing and MMA, De Telegraaf writes. According to Farid Gamei, however, a federation should also concern itself with the bigger picture. “With development, grassroots sport, elite sport, competitions, training courses and so on.” That is still lacking, and combat sports suffer as a result.

The newspaper recalls that the coronavirus crisis underlined the need for proper organisation once again. “While the KNVB (Royal Dutch Football Association) lobbied the government as a single bloc to get certain things arranged, in combat sports people looked at each other questioningly,” Van Soest writes. “In the end the VA stepped forward to represent the sector, even though in principle that is not a task for a regulator.”

The fragmentation also results in dozens of world titles being handed out to fighters by organisations and promoters, which means a world title often says little. “Everyone has their own world champion. With one federation you can work towards a Dutch national championship, so that it is clear who is the best in the country.”

Another argument for forming a federation put forward by the VA has to do with funding and support. Through affiliation with NOC*NSF (the Dutch Olympic Committee and Dutch Sports Federation), combat sports would become part of the Dutch sports family. “As a fighter you have to do almost everything yourself,” says Gamei, who speaks from experience. He fought at the highest level, but did not receive the support that, for instance, a cricketer in his class did get. And that is not only about money, but also about knowledge. “Combat sport athletes sometimes look up a nutrition plan on the internet. That can and must be done far more professionally. Certainly because kickboxing may become a demonstration sport at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles,” Gamei says.

So according to the VA, a new federation should be in place in 2023. But is that realistic, De Telegraaf asks, given the current fragmented landscape? Dekkers believes it is, but states that the new situation will require a change of culture. “That will take time and energy. They must stop saying ‘I’ and start saying ‘we’.”

This week NOC*NSF appointed a project leader. Jan Willem Landré is to find the right people to form the federation.

De Telegraaf closes by asking where Dutch combat sports will stand in five years’ time. Dekkers: “If everything is safe and clean, if the federation functions well and there are no incidents beyond the bounds of what is acceptable, then hopefully the VA will no longer be needed. In any case we will hand over our federation-related tasks in due course and focus solely on supervision. It would be a good sign if we could ultimately let go of that as well. That would mean the sport is doing well. I will be happiest if we are no longer here.”