Dual power in the WKF and the prospects of suing Moldova

Friedrich Exenberger calls himself president of the WKF, but is not allowed to use the organization's name and logo

The WKF dates back to 1976, when a group of individuals led by Howard Hanson founded the WKA (World Kickboxing Association). Fred Royers, Rob Kaman and Ronnie Green won championship titles under the banner of this organization. Gradually, the WKA became the world’s second most important professional kickboxing association.

The association began to face serious legal problems and caused a split in its ranks. Five promoters who had management positions in the WKA founded ISKA, the International Sport Kickboxing Association, in 1986. Many WKA members began to join the organization, which was gaining success, and a contract to broadcast professional fights with ESPN – one of the largest sports broadcasters in the United States – helped to significantly increase the audience and reduce the influence of the WKA as the organization responsible for kickboxing tournaments. ISKA was based in the United States.

The World Kickboxing Federation (WKF) was founded by Talal Takkush in London, United Kingdom in February 1987. Takkush subsequently stepped down as president of the WKF and did not renew the registration of his trademark.

For a time, the WKF, WKA and ISKA functioned as separate organizations with their own fighters and audiences. In 2013, however, their histories became intertwined after former WKA and ISKA Europe representative Friedrich Exenberger, posing as WKF president, contacted Robert Wilesmith, who at the time had not announced the end of his career as a fighter, and offered him the position of president of the WKF Australia and Oceania division. Wilesmith accepted the offer, although he later found out that Exenberger did not have WKF registration papers and the organization he headed was not legally founded.

The rights to own the WKF trademark were held by the federation’s founder Talal Takkush. In February 2012, Takkush won his case against Exenberger and defended his legal right to the WKF name and logo. Exenberger was ordered to pay the plaintiff’s legal costs, but he has so far ignored the court order.

Takkush met with Robert Wilesmith and offered him the leadership of the WKF, an organization whose existence is backed by registration documents. After negotiations with Takkush, Robert Wilesmith registered a legal entity – “World Kickboxing Federation” Ltd., which received the right to represent the interests of the WKF. Friedrich Exenberger was not aware of this. Waysmith decided to use the surprise effect to find out information about the schemes that Exenberger was using around the world.

International registers list Mandurah, a city in western Australia, as the headquarters of the WKF. Austria does not appear in any official document as a country where the WKF executive bodies are located. The events in Austria and other countries, which, according to Friedrich Eksenberger, were held under the auspices of the WKF, have no legal basis. The fact that Exenberger used fraudulent schemes when holding tournaments is evidenced by the testimony of ISKA lawyer Mike Sawyer and other representatives of the organization.

During his years as the self-proclaimed president of the WKF, Friedrich Eksenberger has developed worldwide connections that allow him to maintain influence in several regions of Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Organizing tournaments in these countries allows Eksenberger to earn millions of dollars annually. But the alleged connections in the law enforcement agencies of these countries do not allow to initiate administrative or criminal prosecution against him.

Before the failed European Kickboxing Championship in Chisinau, rumors about possible connections of Friedrich Eksenberger with representatives of the criminal world were circulating in mass media. In particular, the name of Grigori Caramalac, also known by the nickname “Bolgar”, was mentioned. He is on an international wanted list by the Moldovan authorities, suspected of blackmail and attempted murder.

In an interview with a Russian media outlet, Caramalac called WAKO complicit in the disruption of the tournament. The World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) has IOC recognition, but unlike the WKF, unites amateur kickboxers around it. There is a division WAKO-Pro, responsible for the segment of professional athletes. But it has significantly less influence, compared to other organizations that hold international kickboxing tournaments. WAKO’s interest in canceling the championship looks very unlikely.

It should be noted the long-standing confrontation of the sports club “Garuda”, co-organizer of the European Championship, with the president of the Kickboxing and Oriental Federation of RM, Tudor Gorea. On his initiative, the club was excluded from the federation and, judging by the statements of the president of “Garuda” Rustam Alimov, lost the opportunity to send its students to national and international competitions. In turn, Tudor Gorya accused the club of violating the regulations of the federation and political engagement.

The dual power established in WKF, when one (Friedrich Eksenberger) of the two presidents actually illegally uses the name and logo of the organization, reduces to zero the prospects for the organization to sue the Moldovan authorities. The Ministry of Education analyzed the competence of the organization represented by Eksenberger to go to court and found it necessary to leave this news without comment.