By Jake Smith
As the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation continues to expand, Scotland has become the latest nation to establish a federation.
The idea of setting up a federation was something that had been considered for some time. Mixed Martial Arts Federation of Scotland representative Iain Feenan discussed how the creation of the federation came about and the role in which the success of IMMAF ultimately played in making the final decision. With the progression of the federation, Feenan also hopes that Scotland can play their part in securing Olympic recognition of Mixed Martial Arts. He said:
“It’s something a number of people in the Scottish MMA scene have spoken about for a while now. However, seeing the emergence of IMMAF and the affiliated organisations is a driving factor. As a country, we want to be part of growing the sport and help with the goal of being recognised by the International Olympic Committee.
“It’s been challenging and a slow process, but we are making headway, and in the end, it will be well worth it.”
A huge factor for a federation finding success is having clear, attainable goals, something the MMA Scotland appears to have in abundance. Feenan explained that there are numerous things the federation will look to achieve in order to progress the safety & level of mixed martial arts across all levels of the sport.
“Our goal is to build an organisation that develops the sport of MMA in Scotland from grassroots to professional level through education, training and safeguarding of young people, competitors and coaches in MMA.”
Scotland will be sending sole competitor Kunle Lawal to the European Championships. Feenan believes being able to have representation at a tournament so early after the inception of the federation is a monumental step in the right direction.
“It’s great to see Scotland represented for the first time at this event. Scotland has a wealth of talent who I’m sure we will see compete in IMMAF events more regularly in the future.”
Although this will be the federation’s first IMMAF tournament, they are no strangers to the Championship format. In June, Scotland took a sizable team to the inaugural EMMAA Four Nations Tournament, taking home eight medals, and the aforementioned Lawal was named Athlete Of The Tournament.
Watch the 2022 IMMAF European Championships live and exclusively from Bella Italia Efa Village in Lignano Sabbiadoro (Italy) from 27 September and 1 October 2022 at immaf.tv with the tournament draw taking place on 26 September.
