Benidorm opens ITF Taekwon-Do World Cup with thousands of athletes

The ITF Taekwon-Do World Cup is now under way in Benidorm, where the Palau d'Esports l'Illa is hosting several days of competition that will run until Saturday 3 October. The tournament opened with a ceremony organised jointly by Marbella Football Center and Benidorm Town Council.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Sports Councillor, Javier Jordá, accompanied by municipal representatives, as well as Paco Ferrando, head of the National ITF Taekwon-Do Department of the Spanish Federation, and Benidorm resident Lucas Mencía, runner-up in the world championships in this discipline.

Participation figures

According to Canfali, more than 3,500 people attended the opening ceremony. The source reports that 2,680 athletes are competing in the championship, spread across 259 teams, with a total of 5,671 registrations across the different categories and disciplines. To these are added, always according to Canfali, 781 coaches, 112 international referees and 449 officials, bringing the total number of people directly involved in the competition to more than 4,000.

Entry to the Palau d'Esports l'Illa is free during all competition days. The closing ceremony of the championship will take place on Saturday 3 October at 18:00.

Canfali notes, though without confirmation, that the event brings together athletes and delegations from various countries, the attending public includes British citizens resident in Marina Baixa, and that more than a hundred scouts from European clubs are closely following the competition.