Mixed martial arts may be recognised by Sport Ireland if organisers can establish a national governing body (NGB) that ensures safety standards are “improved to an acceptable level.”
Representatives of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) and its affiliated body in Ireland recently met with Minister for Sport Michael Ring and Sport Ireland CEO John Treacy to discuss issues surrounding the death of Portuguese fighter Joao Carvalho at an event in Dublin in April, and safety issues within the sport.
MMA stakeholders in Ireland have welcomed the move and will now meet on 17 May to discuss the establishment of a body that will enter into the Sport Ireland NGB recognition process.
Currently, MMA is not regulated or affiliated to Sport Ireland.
The NGB, like all other NGBs that are recognised by Sport Ireland, would be responsible for setting and overseeing appropriate standards, including standards relating to safety and governance.
Minister Ring said: “I welcome the acknowledgement on the part of MMA event organisers that safety standards at their events in Ireland are in urgent need of very significant improvement.
“I also welcome their intention to engage in Sport Ireland’s rigorous process of NGB recognition.
“While the untimely death of Joao Carvalho was a terrible tragedy, I hope that his passing would lead to some good and that lessons would be learned that would ensure that safety standards within MMA are improved to an acceptable level.
“The introduction of appropriate safety standards cannot come soon enough and I hope that all participants in MMA events, whether amateur or professional, youth or adult, would be protected by the introduction of those standards.”
