IFMA and EX Sports Collaborate in Exciting Times for Muaythai

2019 Jul, 20     Bangkok, Thailand


In what is proving to be an exciting year for the sport of muaythai, the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur (IFMA) shared more good news when it announced a collaboration with EX Sports that will see muaythai become the first sport in the world to introduce collectible digital cards later this year.



Having been involved in the muaythai industry for more than fifteen years, the co-founders of EX Sports have already collaborated with IFMA on many projects. Indeed, one of EX Sports’ co-founders, Toli Makris, is on the executive board of IFMA where one of his main responsibilities is to seek out new revenue streams for the federation. It is in that capacity that Makris developed the concept of creating collectible digital cards on a blockchain system.

After Makris successfully presented the concept to IFMA, an agreement was signed during the recent IFMA World Championships in Bangkok for EX Sports to handle the project. In what was an historic day for the sport of muaythai, IFMA also announced during the same event that the amateur federation would merge with the World Muaythai Council (WMC), which oversees the professional side of the sport. Under the agreement, both the professional and amateur sides of the sport will come together under one umbrella.

With both IFMA and the WMC now operating in tandem, the digital cards project will give more than one million muaythai fighters registered with either IFMA or the WMC the chance to create their own virtual merchandise, increasing fan engagement and fulfilling the objective of creating a new revenue stream for the two muaythai federations.

For EX Sports, it is one of what the company hopes will be many projects working with a sport’s main federations to develop a blockchain solution aimed at providing fan-based financial support for both professional and amateur athletes.

Muaythai will become the first sport in the world to introduce collectible digital cards later this year at the European Championships in Minsk and the Asian Championships in Abu Dhabi.

WMC Vice President and IFMA General Secretary, Stephan Fox, expressed cautious optimism about the project. “I remain conservative about the crypto world,” he said. “However, I know that times are changing and I see the potential of blockchain and the value it can bring to our athletes and indeed to our fans.”