What is UWW Europe?
United World Wrestling Europe is the world federation's European Council — like its Pan-American counterpart, an auxiliary body of UWW rather than a separate federation. It succeeded the long-standing European wrestling committee known as CELA, was renamed a Council in 2003 and became UWW Europe in 2015.[1] [2]
What does it do?
It runs the European Championships in all three Olympic styles at senior, U23, U20, U17 and U15 level — nearly 2,600 athletes across the 2024 editions — plus European beach wrestling and grappling championships, and it coordinates more than seventy-five international tournaments a year across the continent. It also funds a women's wrestling development programme and names annual best-wrestler and best-coach awards.[2] [3]
What makes it distinctive?
It administers international transfers of wrestlers within Europe — 181 of them in 2024, most involving foreign wrestlers licensed to clubs in the German Bundesliga. Few continental councils in any sport run a transfer system of their own, and it makes UWW Europe the body that documents where a European wrestler is licensed to compete in club competition.[2]
Who are its members?
48 national federations, stated in the council's own annual report. Karl-Martin Dittmann of Germany, secretary-general of the German wrestling federation, was re-elected president in April 2025 for the 2025–2029 cycle at the General Assembly held alongside the European Championships in Bratislava. As with the other councils, it selects no national teams.[2] [3]
References
- United World Wrestling — European Council. Accessed August 2026.
- UWW Europe — 2024 annual report. Accessed August 2026.
- United World Wrestling — Dittmann re-elected European Council president. Accessed August 2026.