Dear Colleagues,

I trust this letter finds you well and I would like to thank the organizers of the European Cup for the great success of their championships.  All eyes are on the upcoming European Championships in Poland and I hope that all of our European member countries will participate.

We are in full preparation for the upcoming World Sports Cultural Festival, The World Sport for All Games which are under the patronage of the IOC.  Muaythai under IFMA has become the Official Sports Program, which after our inclusion in GAISF is another milestone in the history of our sport.

I have just come back from Korea inspecting all the venues and participating in various meetings with the organizing committee and the Korean Muaythai Association.  This undoubtedly will be the biggest championship we have ever staged.  The opening ceremony will be very spectacular with about 10,000 athletes from all sports participating.  We have secured the Main Stadium as Muaythai has become one of the main sports in the games.

Also, during the games will be the IOC World Forum, this will give us a great chance to present our sport to the IOC members and we are on our way to becoming IOC recognized.  Since this is also the World Sports Cultural Festival, we will not just decide the sporting aspects but we must also focus on the cultural aspects of our sport.  I will soon contact you with detailed ideas.

For now, most importantly, you will start the selection process for your team.  The numbers have to be decreased this year, as we can only bring a total of 600 players including officials and referees.  We will soon send you the maximum  number  of  athletes that each team can bring.  The invitation letter we will send to you early next week, and for the first time, the IOC Olympic Rings will be on our invitation letter.  I must outline again to everyone that we are now truly a world Sports Federation and we must follow strictly our constitution and our international sports practices.

I also would like to introduce our new International Director, Yoko Maliszewski, who will be liaising with you on all aspects of the Championship, as she will be heading the international office for the 2008 Championships. Please be reminded again, that only countries which have paid their membership fees can participate in this championship.  We  have been a little bit slack on the administrative side, and I have instructed Yoko and Mayom to follow up on this very seriously.

So, I hope you are all excited and from next week onwards we will do a weekly update on the championships, and the games.  Last, but not least, next week is the final of The Contender.  The show has become the number one rated show in Asia, something we never dreamed of and through The Contender , Muaythai will be introduced to over 400 million people worldwide.

I am looking forward to seeing you all in Busan and I urge you to work closely with Yoko on everything.   A separate  invitational  letter will be sent to your Olympic Committee and/or highest Sport Authority as this event is under patronage of the IOC.

Our President, Dr. Sakchye Tapsuwan  is sending his regards to each and everyone of you.

Yours respectfully,

Stephan

Head Office,
Bangkok, Thailand.
Phone: 66-2-6616263
Fax:      66-2-6616265
www.wmcmuaythai.org