On November 15, an important meeting was held at the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was attended by Mr. Mohammad Reza Nassiri Nejad, IKA General Secretary; Mr. Seyed Manaf Hashemi, Deputy Minister of Finance for the Ministry of Sports and Youth; Mr. Ali Reza Rahimi, Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth; and Mr. Mohammad Reza Abedi Mahzoon, Director General of Planning and Supervision for the Championship Sports of the Ministry ; Ali Emadi, Head of the Iran Kurash Association’s International Department.
The agenda of the meeting was dedicated to holding the 2025 World Kurash Championship in Iran.
Turkish Kurash Federation’s late cancellation of their hosting created challenges in finding a new venue on short notice. In September, the Iran Kurash Association showed interest to host the World Championships, a request that was subsequently approved by the IKA Directing Committee.
Despite the tight deadline, the IKA, the Iranian Kurash Association and the Iranian Ministry of Sports are working diligently to host the 2025 World Senior Championships by the end of January 2026.
During the meeting, which lasted more than two hours, the Iranian side fully accepted all financial commitments required for the hosting. The only remaining step is to finalize the Host City Agreement (HCA), which will need adjustments regarding the date and location of the championship.
The Iranian authorities are making every effort to determine the exact venue and date of the tournament. Currently, the most likely venue is Kish Island, located in the south of Iran.
Kish Island is one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in the world. Located in the Persian Gulf, it is visited by about 20 million tourists every year.
One of the main advantages of Kish Island is the visa-free regime and the availability of direct flights from different destinations. Flights will be operated by airlines from the UAE (Flydubai, Emirates, Air Arabia), Qatar (Qatar Airways), Kuwait (Jazeera Airways), Jordan (Royal Jordanian Airlines), Turkey (Turkish Airlines) and Kish Air, among others.
Preparations for the 15th World Senior Kurash Championships are currently being finalized. The efforts of the IKA and the Iranian side are aimed at organizing the competition at a high level and creating decent conditions for the athletes.
