European Judo Union President Dr. László TÓTH was unanimously re-elected for a further four years by acclamation at the 76th EJU Ordinary Congress in Budapest. The Hungarian has been in office for 900 days (June 2022). The second term runs until December 2028.
“We started a positive revolution in 2022, we want to continue in this vein. We achieved a lot in 2024, we have big plans for the next few years and we want to continue to improve,” commented Dr. László Tóth on his re-election. “In order to strengthen the operations and further increase the efficency of the European Judo Union, the number of Executive Committee members will be increased and the registration head office will be relocated to better manage the organization´s operational and administrative tasks.”
“The EJU is the main engine of the International Judo Federation. As László Tóth used the term revolution: After every change, stability is needed. Especially in these challenging times, we need calm and unity in order to remain successful,” said IJF President Marius L. Vizer.
Facts & figures on the election and the achievements of recent years:
- European nations: 31 Olympic medals in Paris 2024, 8 of which were gold, achieved by 16 nations, plus 8 World Championship titles in Abu Dhabi
- 111 EJU events in 2024, with an upward trend
- New EJU event formats established: European Championships Open, Small Nations European Championships, Kata & Veterans Tour, Adaptive Judo Get Together Tour, Under-15-Judo-Hopes-Cup
- 2 million euros to EJU members as part of the Pandemic Programme
- Increased cooperation with IJF in all areas
- 15.4 million live views on JUDOTV
- +500,000 followers on the social media channels
- The new elected EJU Executive Committee: President: Dr. László Tóth (HUN), Vice-Presidents: Ivan Todorov (SRB/Marketing), Catarina Rodrigues (POR/Sport), Kristiina Pekkola (SWE/Education), Development Directors: Giuseppe Matera (ITA), Moshe Ponte (ISR), Branislav Crnogorac (BIH), Education Directors: Gévrise Emane (FRA), Teodor Adrian Pop (GER), Ronnie Saez (GBR), Marketing Directors: Oleksandr Nagibin (UKR), Jacek Zawadka (POL), Head Refereeing Director: Alexandr Jatskevitch (LAT), Referee Education Director: Juan Carlos Barcos Nagore (ESP), Head Sports Director: Urska Zolnir Jugovar (SLO), Sport Directors: Sezer Huysuz (TUR), David Kevkishvili (GEO), Agron Kuka (KOS), General Treasurer: Envic Galea (MLT), General Secretary: Martin Poiger (AUT)
- Seven new faces: Gévrise Emane, Juan Carlos Barcos Nagore, Branislav Crnogorac, David Kevkhishvili, Giuseppe Matera, Teodor Adrian Pop, Ivan Todorov
- Gender equality: for the first time, there are two female Vice Presidents in office – Kristina Pekkola and Catarina Rodrigues
- Quantity & quality: All major judo nations such as Germany, France, Georgia, Italy and Spain are represented in the new EC – the ‘Big 5’ together represent more than 1 million judoka. In the new EC, 20 people will work on the future of European judo
- Highly decorated: Branislav Crnogorac holds the ninth dan, Juan Carlos Barcus, Envic Galea, Alexandr Jatskevitch, Oleksandr Nagibin and László Tóth all have the 8th dan
- Olympic experience: No fewer than nine (of the 20) EC members have competed in the Summer Olympics (Emane, Huysuz, Jatskevitch, Kevkhishvili, Ponte, Todorov, Zolnir Jugovar), Urska Zolnir Jugovar won the gold medal – 63 kg in 2012, Gévrise Emana took bronze in London, Alexandr Jatskevitch came third in Moscow in 1980.
Author: EJU Media