Las Palmas de Gran Canaria became the epicentre of continental judo with the 77th Congress of the European Judo Federation, a congress that highlighted everything that has taken place during 2025 and sets out the guidelines to be followed in the coming years.
In this way, the Royal Spanish Judo Federation, has been responsible for hosting the event. Juan Carlos Barcos, President of the Royal Spanish Judo Federation (RFEJYDA), Director of Refereeing Education at the EJU and recently appointed IJF Refereeing Director, shows a strong interest in the evolution of our sport, particularly in the refereeing area, a role that has accompanied him for much of his “Both refereeing and judo are in constant evolution and we must continually adapt in order to make our sport exciting, allowing our competitors to be free and creative in developing different techniques.”
However, Barcos goes further and does not focus solely on refereeing. It is worth noting that the last European Championship held in Spain took place in 1998, with the Senior European Championships in Oviedo. Twenty eight years later, Spain will once again be one of the host countries for the nine European Championships scheduled for 2026. For this reason, the celebration of the 77th EJU Congress is a magnificent opportunity to highlight the great organisational capacity of the RFEJYDA and to showcase the island’s enormous potential, positioning it as an international reference point in our sport.
“Canary Islands has a particular interest in sporting development and when we contacted them, they were fascinated by judo. This is not the first time we have organised a championship and a gala here on the island, which is why we must ensure continuity with a Cadet European Championship in 2026, the U23 European Championship in 2027 and the Veterans European Championship in 2028.”
Continuity…, this is Barcos’ main objective, alongside spreading enthusiasm. Enthusiasm for discovering this iconic place and for giving visibility to all those who live here through this beautiful future project. Spanish judo is currently experiencing one of its best periods. As a result, organising events of this magnitude provides an additional motivational boost. Examples include the 1991 World Championships in Barcelona, the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and the 1988 European Championships in Pamplona, where Spain shone with outstanding medals. To conclude he added: “We can say that competing at home provides extra motivation and the excitement of leaving our mark.”
Author: Carla Montañez Peirot
Author: EJU Media