The World Badminton Federation is a former
badminton organization, it was founded in February 1978 and ceased its operation on May 26, 1981 after it merged with the
International Badminton Federation (now known as
Badminton World Federation
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...
or BWF).
History
Establishment
The World Badminton Federation was established as a result of the dissatisfaction of some badminton nations, led by then non-IBF member
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, with the policies of the
International Badminton Federation, the governing body of international badminton formed in the 1930s. The two main issues were the IBF's acceptance of
Taiwan (
ROC) as a national organization, and its refusal to dismiss the
South African association due to the apartheid policies of the then South African government.
Conferences called by the Asian Badminton Confederation (now known as the
Badminton Asia Confederation) were held in September and November 1977 which resulted in the withdrawal of the African Badminton Union (now
Badminton Confederation of Africa
The Badminton Confederation Africa (BCA) (formerly known as Badminton Confederation of Africa) is the governing body of badminton in Africa. It is one of the 5 continental bodies under the flag of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). It now has ...
) from the IBF. The founding of the World Badminton Federation was officially proclaimed at a third conference held in
Hong Kong in February 1978. Twenty-two nations and regions, nearly all from
Asia or
Africa joined the federation:
Bangladesh,
Brunei,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Ghana,
Guyana
Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
,
Hong Kong,
India,
Iran,
Kenya,
Malaysia,
Mauritius,
Nepal,
Nigeria,
North Korea,
Pakistan,
Philippines,
Singapore,
South Korea,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
Tanzania,
Thailand and
Zambia.
Austria,
France,
Mexico (on behalf of the
Pan American Badminton Confederation
The Badminton Pan Am (BPA) organisation is the governing body for the sport of badminton in the Americas and is recognized as such by the Badminton World Federation - BWF. It was founded as a continental governing body on February 13, 1976 in ...
),
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
West Germany and
Yugoslavia sent non-voting observers to attend the conference.
During its establishment, the World Badminton Federation organized two editions of its own World Championship, one held in
Bangkok in 1978, the other in
Hangzhou in 1979.
Union
The union with the International Badminton Federation was brought into being following the decision of Taiwan to change the name of its organization to the
Chinese Taipei Badminton Association and a promise from South African Badminton Union not to participate in the
Thomas and
Uber Cups or
IBF World Championships. Relatively minor changes in voting rules were also approved.
In March 1981, a special conference was held with the voting result of 57 to 4 in support of unification. On May 26, 1981, the World Badminton Federation officially united with International Badminton Federation.
["IBF Approve the Deal," ''World Badminton'', June 1981, 9.]
References
{{International Sports Federations
Badminton organizations
International sports organizations