Alexandre Nascimento, technical director for the Jiu-Jitsu International Federation and a long-time resident of Abu Dhabi, laid out in precise detail what it takes for jiu-jitsu to operate within the Olympic framework.
Speaking on the Connect Cast podcast, Nascimento explained that the federation has already applied for IOC recognition, and that the structural groundwork is largely in place.
“At the end of the year we applied for recognition, because they are different processes. First, you are recognized by the IOC as a federation. It doesn’t mean you’re in the Games. You’ve just entered. It’s a matter of time.”
But recognition is only the beginning. The requirements that follow are rigorous, and anti-d*ping sits at the center of them.
“Anti-d*ping is very serious. There has to be a program, there’s an anti-d*ping commission. The events test for d*ping, so this is a very high cost for the federation. The athletes have to participate in a course, they have to receive certification there.”
Each individual test runs around $200 or more, and the federation carries that expense directly.
“A large portion of the federation’s budget today goes to anti-d*ping.” Testing is not limited to podium finishers either. “The average there is around ten percent. It has to be checked randomly. So it’s not just the podium.”
The federation has also moved to protect the integrity of the Asian Games specifically. With gold medals in some countries worth up to one million dollars when government bonuses, federation payments, and sponsorship are combined, the concern over outside athletes entering under new passports became real. The response was a firm policy shift.
“We started requiring AD certification. The person has to take the course. They have to have participated in other events to have a history of testing within the federation, to prevent an outsider from coming in and disrupting all the work that has been done for years.”
At a recent Masters Games in Abu Dhabi, the weight of those rules was felt immediately.
“There are even some guys who backed out, who registered and already left. But if they fail, they’ll be on the UADA list, already banned from anything they want to participate in afterwards.”
The scale of the Asian Games itself is something most people in the BJJ world have not processed.
“The French Olympics had 12,000 athletes and staff. The Asian Games had 18,000 athletes.”
Jiu-jitsu currently holds five medal slots within those Games, and each one carries enormous national significance for the competing countries.
As Nascimento put it, operating within the Olympic Council of Asia has placed jiu-jitsu in a position of real institutional weight, but that position comes with costs and compliance standards that the professional BJJ world has never had to meet before.
[Editor’s Note: Quotes have been translated and edited for readability and clarity.]
