President of the Irish Amateur Pankration Association [IAPA], John Kavanagh, today confirmed that the association has held "positive" and "meaningful" talks with govenrment officials with regards to regulating mixed martial arts.
The meetings have been prompted following the tragic death of Portuguese fighter Joao Carvalho after an MMA event in Dublin this month.
Speaking to Off The Ball acting Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring said: "On the 20th of February 2014, before this [the death of Joao Carvalho] event ever happened, I wrote to 17 organisations and these were commercial operators that were running for profit events in Ireland. I wrote to the 17 of them and I outlined to them that I expected the same kind of safety standards that existed for other sports such as rugby, horse racing and professional boxing. I am concerned and I have been concerned. And I've been concerned about the growth of this sport and the way that it's unregulated. It needs to be regulated."
Acting Minister for Transport Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring. Image: ©INPHO/Gary Carr
He continued to say that he would welcome talks with the IAPA, a sentiment that Densign White, CEO of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation [IMMAF] echoed on Newstalk Breakfast: "We've sent him a letter to reach out to him and explained that we'd like to meet with him and sit down to tell him what we're all about.
"We want to show him what we're trying to do and how we're trying to self regulate but in the absence of government recognition or government regulation, our work is so much more difficult."
Kavanagh today posted on Facebook an update on how talks had progressed between representatives on both sides: "Yesterday a positive preliminary meeting took place between Minister Michael Ring, a representative of Sport Ireland, Professor Dan Healy and senior civil servants. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the future of MMA (mixed martial arts) in Ireland, its regulation and safety measures at competitions.
"Over the course of the next few weeks, a series of meetings are to take place between the IAPA and government officials to commence work towards regulating our sport efficiently and safely."
He carried on to signify the importance of these meetings: "I see this acknowledgment by the Sports Minister and government officials as a very positive first step towards our excellent athletes receiving the same level of support and recognition as Ireland's fantastic national sports teams do when they travel and represent their country.
"We have a lot of work to do, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I'm happy that after nearly 20 years of promoting MMA in Ireland to be making that first step."
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