Image by Petter Stahre After being a vital part of shaping the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) from its inception, Secretary General Erika Mattsson recently resigned from her position at the international governing body. “It has been an amazing journey to be at the center of development for the fastest growing sport in the world during such a transitional time. It was a pleasure leading this organization and being part of establishing standards and structures to ensure that MMA has the same rights, opportunities and recognition as other world sports. My journey as the IMMAF Secretary General ends here as it’s time for me to return to the world of business, but I look back on these years with much joy. The MMA community is a passionate one and I’m happy to have been part of it.” says Erika Mattsson. The International Mixed Martial Arts Federation was founded in February 2012 after a period of deliberations between key parties of the MMA community in Europe. With a background in management consulting within brand strategy and business development, Erika Mattsson was brought on the team in January 2012. Her first task was to put the strategic platform of the newborn organization in place and oversee the official launch on April 12th 2012. She was then engaged as Director of Communications and later Secretary General, leading the organization in its first years of development. During this time the IMMAF has grown to having 37 member federations around the world; it has established international relations for the development of MMA and put standards and policies in place. In July 2014 the first IMMAF World Championships in Amateur MMA was held in Las Vegas, USA, allowing young MMA athletes the first ever opportunity to represent their countries in a proper international championship hosted by its own governing body. “The IMMAF has been lucky to have in Erika Mattsson a qualified and dedicated person during our early growth period. Our knowledge of MMA coupled with her knowledge in strategy, organization development and communication has been a winning combination. Being a non-profit democratic organization in its infancy we have been confined to limited resources, and Erika has despite that managed to move us forward significantly. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors and I want to express gratitude on behalf of the entire IMMAF family and the international MMA community.” says IMMAF President Bertrand Amoussou. Erika Mattsson will for a period consult with the IMMAF as a Senior Advisor alongside her new engagements. A successor for the position as Secretary General will be announced shortly.]]>
