International Go Federation


The International Go Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Go federations around the world.

Role

The role of the IGF is to promote the sport of Go throughout the world, promote amicable relations among members and improve world go organization. It does so by carrying out the following activities:
The IGF is an apolitical and non-religious organization, and strives to promote fair play amongst all players.

History

The Japan Go Association organized the first World Go Amateur Championship in Japan, in 1979. Many of the top Go players from around the world and representatives from the major National Go Associations attended the event. Its success led to the founding of the International Go Federation on March 18, 1982, with Shizuo Asada presiding over the original 29 founding members.
On April 7, 2006, the IGF became a member of the General Association of International Sports Federations.
The IGF is one of the founding member of the IMSA.
The IGF organizes the yearly World Amateur Go Championship, which attracts over 65 countries.

Members

the IGF has 77 member nations: 39 in Europe, 18 in Asia, 15 in the Americas, 3 in Africa and 2 in Oceania. It also has five Association Members, which cover multiple countries: the World Pair Go Association, the Federación Iberoamericana de Go, the European Go Federation, the Ing Changk Wei-Chi Education Foundation and the Asian Go Federation.

IGF Presidents

  1. Shizuo Asada, Professional Go Player and founding President of the IGF, 1982–1997
  2. Fumio Watanabe, 1997–2001
  3. Matsuo Toshimitsu, 2001–2004
  4. Masao Kato, Professional 9-dan Go player, 2004–2005
  5. Norio Kudo, Professional 9-dan Go player, 2005–2007
  6. Hiromu Okabe, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Nihon Ki-in, President of the Denso Corporation, 2007–2009
  7. Otake Hideo, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Nihon Ki-in, 2009–2010
  8. Chang Zhenming, Vice-chairman and President of CITIC Group, 2010–2012
  9. Koichiro Matsuura, President of World Pair Go Association and former Director General of UNESCO, 2012-2014
  10. Seokhyun Hong, Chairman of the Korea Baduk Association, President of the Joongang Media Network, 2014-2016
  11. Chang Zhenming, President of CITIC Group, June 4, 2016 – present