The UK receives prestigious award at the World Taekwondo 2023 Gala Awards in Manchester.

British Taekwondo has been honoured as the World Taekwondo Member National Association (MNA) of the Year for 2023.

Taekwondo’s finest athletes, coaches and officials were recognised at the World Taekwondo 2023 Gala Awards, marking a fitting conclusion to an extraordinary season.

The World Taekwondo 2023 Gala Awards took place in Manchester on Sunday 3rd December following the conclusion of the Manchester 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final held in the city.

The awards commenced with the World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue announcing the UK as the recipient of the MNA of the Year Award.

British Taekwondo President Sarah Stevenson MBE and GB Taekwondo Chief Executive Officer Paul Buxton collected the award on behalf of the MNA.

Commenting on the award as WT MNA of the Year British Taekwondo’s President Sarah Stevenson MBE said “To receive the World Taekwondo MNA of the Year Award is an honour for everyone involved in Taekwondo across British Taekwondo and GB Taekwondo. 2023 has been a fantastic year of competition for our athletes, with tremendous support for all from our partners, stakeholders and network of clubs across the UK.”

Sarah added “We hope that everyone involved in Taekwondo will join us in celebrating this achievement as we look back on an excellent year, and an exciting year ahead in 2024.”

Ian Leafe, Chief Executive of British Taekwondo and Secretary General of the MNA said “This is a huge acknowledgement of the work done over recent years by British Taekwondo and the strength of the relationship between the MNA and GB Taekwondo in delivering this world class event.”

About British Taekwondo

British Taekwondo is the National Governing Body for the Sport of Taekwondo in Great Britain and is the representative of World Taekwondo and the European Taekwondo Union.

About World Taekwondo

World Taekwondo (WT) is the International Federation (IF) governing the sport of Taekwondo and is a member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

WT leads the most inclusive and accessible combat sport, which combines the values of an ancient Asian heritage with the values of a global elite sport. Taekwondo evolves on a solid base, mixing the traditional and the modern. The values recognized by practitioners and partners are the strength of our sport. They are distilled from those found in our society: the search for pleasure, surpassing oneself, perseverance, moral and physical strength, and respect for others.

World Taekwondo has 213 Member National Associations across Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and Pan America. It also has a “plus 1” refugee associate membership.

This year, World Taekwondo celebrated the organisation’s 50th anniversary.