> International Judo Federation

The International Judo Federation (IJF) is the international governing body for the sport of judo, founded on July 11, 1951, when representatives of the European Judo Union convened to formalize international judo governance and accepted the candidacy of member nations including Argentina. Headquartered in Budapest, Hungary, the IJF represents over 200 national federations across six continents and reports that more than 20 million people practice judo globally. The organization is led by president Marius Vizer and is a member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF).

Judo has featured in the men’s program of the Summer Olympics since the 1964 Tokyo Games, with women’s judo added at the 1992 Barcelona Games. The IJF organizes the IJF World Judo Tour, a year-round series of Grand Slams, Grand Prix, Masters, and World Championship events culminating in the World Judo Championships. The federation sets the international competition rules (including the contest area, scoring, prohibited techniques, and referee signals) and oversees athlete licensing and anti-doping compliance globally.

In 2022, the IJF stripped Vladimir Putin of his honorary president and ambassador status following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, though it later allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutral athletes — a decision that drew controversy and prompted boycotts by the Ukrainian national judo team.

Note: The IJF is a sanctioning and governing body, not a commercial promotion. Events are organized by the IJF directly or through national member federations under IJF-licensed rulesets.