World Power Games Will Debut in 2022

(ATR) The first World Power Games will be in 2022, with Santa Susanna, Spain being the "very probable" venue.

Santa Susanna is on the Catalonian Mediterranean coast, 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the city of Barcelona.

Doctor Rafael Santonja, President of the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness, told Around the Rings that the month of the new project was yet to be defined.

"It should have been discussed at the SportAccord convention last April, but it was canceled in Beijing because of COVID-19," said the federation.

Santonja commented that next November, during the ASOIF meeting scheduled in Lausanne, he hopes to meet with the presidents of the involved international federations "to cancel the calendar and advance on the project."

He believes that the plan of the World Power Games is "really consolidated".

The principal obstacle has been the pandemic "that has absolutely altered everything".

Among other situations, he also mentioned the "changes in the International Weightlifting Federation".

The IWF is now in a process of restoring its credibility following the allegations of the mismanagement against its former president, Tamás Aján. The federation plans for new elections and a reform process by next January.

"There have been situations that require a certain amount of time for everyone in the world to settle down and we can talk calmly of something new and constructive," reflected Santonja, the well-known leader of the IFBB, with 199 affiliated countries.

"We know that federations at the moment have their priorities to maintain their operations and their day-to-day until everything can be definitively stabilized."

Representatives of five international federations, Bodybuilding and Fitness, Weightlifting, Powerlifting, Armwrestling, and Tug of War, are bringing forward the design and preparation of the first World Power Games.

Last September, these federations met in Santa Susanna with local authorities and discussed aspects like specific locations, number of participants per sport, financing, and promotion of the new multi-sport competition.

Unfortunately, three months later, the pandemic came.

Santonja also confirmed to ATR that the 74th World Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships will no longer be held in the Chinese city of Xian, citing concerns for the health safety of athletes.

It will now be in the Spanish town of Benidorm, Alicante, from November 5-8, 2020. Xian will host in 2021.

It will be the fifth time in this decade that Benidorm will host IFBB's grand tournament.

Santonja ratified that Benidorm is a place with all the safety conditions for the athletes. The president of the IFBB announced that despite the reduction of competition due to the coronavirus, between the end of August and mid-December, more than 30 international events will be held in five continents.

"Of course, if the pandemic allows us to do so."

Reported byMiguel Hernandez.