World Capoeira Federation


The World Capoeira Federation is an international non-profit organisation whose main mission is to implement the systems and standards of sport capoeira with the view of getting capoeira into the Olympic Games.
The WCF recognises capoeira as a cultural heritage of Brazil the same as UNESCO who declared capoeira and the capoeira circle an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2014.
The rules and points systems of sport capoeira have been scrupulously orchestrated and compiled under the guidance and observation of many of the worlds most respected masters including Mestre Paulão Ceará, Mestre Itapoan, Mestre Boneco, Mestre Jelon, Mestre Hulk, Mestre Peixe Ensaboado and many more. They have helped create a scorable game that is consistent with Olympic standards which also maintains the fundamentals of interaction, variety, and precision of movements that capoeira is traditionally known for.
Today the WCF is the only international organisation representing sport capoeira and the standardisations of sports norms as applied to this form of competition capoeira. The WCF organises competition worldwide as well as facilitating capoeira coaching courses, referee qualification courses and other sport capoeira related activities.

History

The idea to establish an international federation was first introduced in Azerbaijan during the 3rd World Forum on Capoeira on June 18th 2011. By October 2011, under the authorship of Jamil Huseyn, the World Capoeira Federation was founded and registered. in Tallinn, Estonia, where the headquarters of the organisation is currently located.
The main aim of the project was to bring together various Capoeira organisations from around the world to form a single international organisation. Since its establishment the WCF has organised and assisted in organising a number of world championships and international competitions open for all players from all groups to participate. It is in these events that sport competition norms and standards were applied to Capoeira and thus gave birth to Sport Capoeira.

Mission and goals

Mission

To welcome all players of Capoeira to join together for international competition.

Goals

CategoryGenderAge   Weight
Children    1Female
Male   
10 - 11
10 - 11
-
Children    2Female
Male   
12 - 13
12 - 13
-
Juniors     1Female
Male   
14 - 15
14 - 15
-
Juniors     2Female
Male   
16 - 17
16 - 17
-
SeniorsFemale18+up to 53 kg
SeniorsFemale18+53 - 60 kg
SeniorsFemale18+more than 60 kg
SeniorsMale18+up to 64 kg
SeniorsMale18+64 -70 kg
SeniorsMale18+70 - 76 kg
SeniorsMale18+76 - 82 kg
SeniorsMale18+more than 82 kg

Types of competition

World Championships – An international competition for all countries in the world open to elite athletes representing their country.
Continental Championship – An international competition for all countries with a continent open to elite athletes representing their country.
Multi-sport Games – An international competition for all countries in the world open to elite athletes representing their country within the confides of a larger multiple sports event, i.e. Olympic Games.
Premier Tournament – An international competition with a high level of exposure and publicity open to all athletes who are members of the WCF without limit.
International Open Tournaments – An international competition open to all athletes who are members of the WCF without limit. Usually hosted annually in a specific country by the national federation.

Ranking

Every Athlete that participates in a WCF organised or sanctioned competition will score points towards their world ranking in Sport Capoeira.
Athletes that participate in more events and who also perform well in those events will be awarded more points over the year. At the end of every year the WCF awards the top athletes.

Documents of the WCF

Rules of Competition - 2018
Rules of Ranking - 2018
International Referee Course and Exam - 2020
Organising International Competitions - 2020

Membership

Individual Members – Any person can register as an Individual Member of the WCF if in his country there is no National Federation and if his own Capoeira Group, school or club is not an Associate Member of the WCF
Full Members – These are National Federations that represent each country around the world. Each National Federation that is a Full Member of the WCF is supplied with 50 complimentary memberships for their members each year. Only one Federation from each country will be recognised and granted Full Membership by the WCF.
Associate Members – Associate Members are Capoeira groups, schools and clubs from countries that do not have a representing National Federation.
Honorary Member – Athletes, coaches and other members of the WCF or any individual who has significantly contributed to the development of the WCF may be granted an Honorary Membership.

Full Member National Federations

As of January 1st 2020, the current Full Members are national Federations of:
General Conference is a Supreme Body of WCF. The General Conference consists of Full members of WCF. Full members of WCF are National and Continental Capoeira Federations.
A General Conference meeting is held at least once per year. The General Conference may adopt any decision related to the WCF’s activity that is not contradicting with demands of the statutes of the WCF.
Management Board is a head executive body of the WCF and is one of the principal bodies leading current activity of the WCF during a General inter-Conference period. The Management Board consists of 12 members who are individuals. Decisions of the Management Board are made with the ordinary majority of votes in an open voting manner.
Supervisory commission is one of the principal bodies of WCF which conducts inspection and control activity for the WCF. The commission consists of a Chairman and 5 members who are individuals. The Supervisory commission reviews written applications submitted by organisations and members of the WCF within the month and responds accordingly.
Council of Masters is one of the principal bodies, which recognises capoeira masters around the world and documents their careers. The council also assists in preparing technical standards and the procedural rules of capoeira within the WCF.

Leadership