2026 World Championships

Astana Announced as Replacement Host for 2026 World Championships

Friday, May 22, 2026 - 13:06 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 22) -- Astana, Kazakhstan will host the 2026 World Championships from October 24 to November 1.

United World Wrestling Bureau met on Friday and after careful consideration of the current geopolitical situation, particularly the ongoing uncertainty and impact on international travel, it decided to change the host for the 2026 World Championships.

Manama, Bahrain was scheduled to host the World Championships as it was awarded the tournament in Zagreb last year. UWW and Bahrain released a joint statement on Friday, announcing the postponement of the same.

After successful site visits and inspections, the Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation was chosen as a replacement host and Barys Arena was selected as the venue.

World Championships 2026

The announcement marks the return of the World Championships to Astana, a city which successfully hosted the 2019 World Championships. Close to 1000 wrestlers participated in 2019 edition, making it one of the most attended tournaments.

As seen in 2019, full attendance is expected at the the Barys Arena for the nine-day event.

UWW remains committed to assisting National Federations and the schedule for the 2026 World Championships in Astana will be communicated soon. For details of events, visit uww.org/events.

#development

UWW, Kazakhstan Sign MoU to Develop Wrestling

Thursday, April 23, 2026 - 10:19 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (April 20) -- United World Wrestling and the Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop projects to promote wrestling around the world.

The MoU also included the Kazakhstan Wrestling Academy, a modern state of the art facility, which will help elite and pre-elite wrestlers and coaches. It was recognized as UWW Affiliated High Performance Center.

Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation and UWW have built objective that will help better results at the continental and World Championships and the Olympics Games along with strengthening and enhancing sustainability in wrestling.

Kazakhstan

The Kazakhstan Wrestling Academy will also serve as the center for training camps for elite wrestler, host coaches education programs and seminars, educational sessions, and exchange programs.

As part of the MoU, both UWW and Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation will try to expand the footprint of wrestling. It will be done through providing advance facilities, equipment, expertise, conducting seminars and training camps, and actively encourage developing countries to participate in various program with reserved quotas.