Kuala Lumpur: As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has canceled all BWF sanctioned tournaments in Russia and Belarus.
Here’s the official statement from BWF published on Monday:
“The BWF is of the strong belief that any conflict should be resolved without the use of violence of any kind and expresses faith in the sports movement’s contribution towards peace and solidarity between all people. BWF is profoundly concerned for the safety of the people of Ukraine, and the Ukraine badminton community including players, coaches, and officials.
The BWF fully supports the public statement of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board and expresses its disappointment and strong condemnation of the breach by the governments of Russia and Belarus of the UN General Assembly’s Olympic Truce. BWF stands in full solidarity with the entire international sports movement to call on all parties to stop acts of violence and to restore peace.
Subsequently, BWF moved to agree on the following concrete measures:
* All BWF sanctioned tournaments in Russia and Belarus are hereby canceled. No other BWF tournaments will be allocated to Russia or Belarus until further notice.
* The Russian and Belarusian national flags must not be displayed, and the Russian and Belarusian national anthems must not be played, at any BWF sanctioned tournament until further notice.
* BWF will communicate its deepest sympathies and concerns to the Ukraine Badminton Association and will coordinate special support to the Ukraine badminton community where possible.
BWF will continue to monitor the situation closely and will proactively consult our international sport movement partners to discuss other options to potentially strengthen measures against the governments of Russia and Belarus.”
This statement from BWF is consistent with another statement issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the IOC urged organizations to “do everything in their power to ensure that no athlete or sports official from Russia or Belarus be allowed to take part under the name of Russia or Belarus. Russian or Belarusian nationals, be it as individuals or teams, should be accepted only as neutral athletes or neutral teams. No national symbols, colors, flags, or anthems should be displayed.”
Meanwhile, the Board of Directors of Badminton Europe Confederation (BEC) has agreed on an emergency funding package to aid Ukrainian Badminton players, coaches, and officials.
BEC also declared the National Badminton Federation of Russia and the Belarusian Badminton Federation not in Good Standing, effective immediately.
This means that these Federations will not be able to participate at the upcoming BEC Congress to be held in Malta from 8-10 April 2022 and will not be eligible for funding or any other support from BEC.
