This event took place in Rome on Saturday, 7th November 2020, at the “Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel”. There the President Angelo Cito was reelected as leader of that successful MNA, and MASTKD spoke in exclusive with him.

Mr. Angelo Cito, was elected President of Italian Taekwondo Federation for the next four years (2021-2024), with a preference percentage of 82.68%.

For Angelo Cito, this is the second consecutive term at the helm of FITA, the Italian Taekwondo Federation. The elected federal board members are: Giuseppe Flotti, Nicoletta Marinosci, Gianluca Pescante, Isabella Martinetti, Salvatore Chiodo, Antonio Trovarelli, Lorenzo Ragona; for the athletes, Carlo Molfetta and Maristella Smiraglia; for the coaches, Claudio Nolano. Finally, Renato Loioli was elected to the office of auditor.

The first words of the President, Mr. Angelo Cito were: “I would like to thank you for respecting the guidelines provided during the course of this Official Assembly and above all for how you have dealt with this delicate period. The program presented for the next four years is important and together, with commitment and dedication, we will once again be able to achieve great satisfaction. Being able to bring international events to Italy, as has already happened in the past, has placed us at the forefront of sport and this result is only our merit. Women represent a strength of our ruling class and above all thanks to their important contribution, together, we will be able to reach even more ambitious goals.”

Events concerning the election process:

It was a tough assembly, held in a difficult historical period due to the global pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus. FITA have worked on a careful organization of all the dynamics of the event, especially for logistics, to ensure safety for all guests inside the venue. Despite the emergency, there was a large participation of people, with over 500 delegates representing 1500 people with the right to vote. In Italy, the President of the “Italian Taekwondo Federation” is elected by three members: The Presidents Club, the Masters and the Athletes.

Another candidate was also running for the position, the son of the former “Italia Taekwondo Federation” President, Mr. Sun Jae Park. Did you feel worry about this?

“Absolutely not. I was only concerned that all this didn’t deteriorate the image of his father, in Italy and over the world. As everyone knows, with the former President, Mr. Sun Jae Park, I had a special relationship of affection and mutual respect. I worked with him for over twenty years achieving extraordinary results for the taekwondo sport. Unfortunately, there are people who do not have their own identity and try to emerge by exploiting the image of other people. This is what happened. My recommendation to everyone was to safeguard the former President Park’s image as a priority, without exposing his image in this electoral dispute and I succeeded. A son who exploits the image of his father who died four years ago, even using the father’s personal account for his electoral purposes, is in my opinion unspeakable. To become President of the Italian Taekwondo Federation (FITA), it’s necessary to have a different ethical and moral code. And the voters knew it”, said president Cito.

A message for the future of Taekwondo in Italy and over the world

“Taekwondo under the guidance of the World Taekwondo President, Mr. Chungwon Choue, has a bright future and I am sure that we will also be able to overcome this difficult period for everyone. We will all work together so that Taekwondo is strengthened more in the olympic context. Having implemented a World Taekwondo secondary office in Lausanne (International Olympic Committee headquarters) in addition to the Seoul headquarters, has made possible a close comparison with the International Olympic Committee headquarters and other international authorities that decide the future of a specific sport discipline. This choice made by World Taekwondo President, Mr. Chungwon Choue, was strategically very important. Today the high esteem that World Taekwondo have inside the International Olympic Committee (IOC) thanks to the work done by Mr. Chungwon Choue, has definitely grown compared to the past, I can guarantee you this. I can say that the Italian Taekwondo Federation (FITA) and the italian sport movement will be at the side of Mr. Chungwon Choue so that the World Taekwondo becomes more and more prestigious in the world”, commented the elected president.

FITA is moving forward

“Taekwondo must keep on fostering and spreading its ethical values within society and particularly among young people: few sports can be so proud as Taekwondo in promoting solidarity, respect, citizenship, peace; we must protect the image of Taekwondo as a way of life: Taekwondo without ethic and values is nothing”, finalized Cito.