> United World Wrestling

United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of wrestling, representing 176 national federations across all continents. It was founded in 1921 in Stockholm, Sweden as the International Amateur Wrestling Federation (IAWF), later operating for decades as the Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées (FILA) before adopting its current name in September 2014. Headquartered in Corsier-sur-Vevey, near Lausanne, Switzerland, UWW is presided over by president Nenad Lalović of Serbia, who has served in the role since 2013.

UWW governs Olympic wrestling disciplines including freestyle and Greco-Roman, as well as grappling, beach wrestling, and pankration. Wrestling has been an Olympic sport since ancient times and a fixture of the modern Olympics since 1896; women’s freestyle wrestling was added at the 2004 Athens Games. In 2013, UWW faced an existential threat when the International Olympic Committee initially proposed removing wrestling from the 2020 Olympic program, but following a UWW campaign to modernize the sport’s presentation and scoring, the IOC voted on September 8, 2013 to reinstate wrestling as a core Olympic sport.

Note: UWW is the international governing body for wrestling, not a commercial promotion. Events are organized through member federations and the UWW’s own championship calendar — the World Wrestling Championships, Continental Championships, and Olympic qualification events.