Successful BWF AGM 2021

The 82nd BWF AGM was held virtually on Saturday 22 May with a record 158 Members attending and taking part in the meeting. A total of 15 proposals were voted on, and the elections for the BWF Council (2021 – 2025) were held.

BWF Council Elections

The positions of BWF President, Deputy President and Vice President Para Badminton, plus 20 ordinary Council Member positions were confirmed for 2021 to 2025.

The following were elected unopposed signalling continuity at the top of the BWF leadership of the BWF.

• Poul-Erik Høyer – BWF President
• KhunyingPatama Leeswadtrakul – Deputy President
• Paul Kurzo – Vice President Para Badminton

This was followed by the election for the 20 ordinary Council positions, for which there were 31 Candidates. The results were:

The Council outcomes align with the BWF Constitution to guarantee global board representation and a minimum representation of 30 per cent of each gender on Council. The members of the BWF Council 2021 – 2025 can be view on the BWF website (linked here).

BWF President Høyer said he was excited to lead the BWF for another term and congratulated all successful candidates.

“I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the confidence you have put in me to be your President for another term. I will do whatever I can to live up to your trust and to work hard to develop badminton to an even higher level,” Høyer said.

“I would also like to thank all candidates who participated in the election and offered their time, experience and commitment to developing BWF and badminton. The participation in the election of all candidates is extremely important and we are grateful for your contribution.

“With this election we welcome a range of new Council members for the next term and I look forward to working with all of you for the development and progress of our sport.

“At the same time, we say goodbye to a number of Council members who served last term and I would like to acknowledge the huge contributions you have made.”

Proposed Scoring System Change

The BWF Membership also voted on the proposal to amend the Laws of Badminton relating to the Scoring System from 3×21 to 5×11.

The proposal put forward by the Indonesian Badminton Association and the Badminton
Association of Maldives, and seconded by Badminton Asia, Badminton Korea Association and Chinese Taipei Badminton Association, received 66.31% for and 33.69% against, falling just short of the two-thirds majority required.

BWF President Høyer thanked the Membership for their participation in this important decision.

“Our Membership has spoken, and despite the very small margin in which the two-thirds
majority was not reached, the BWF respects the outcome to retain the three games to 21 points scoring system,” Høyer said.

“It is now the second time such a proposal has not been approved, but I see the fantastic participation of the Membership and the decision reached today as an indication that the badminton community is very much engaged in the best interests of the sport during these difficult and challenging times. So, for that, I thank everyone for their role in this process.

“While the proposed scoring system change has been part of my vision to make badminton more exciting and to increase the entertainment value for stakeholders and fans, this will not deter us from continuing our efforts to increase excellence in badminton for all concerned in line with our Strategic Plan 2020-2024.”

In other matters, the Membership voted successfully to confirm the inaugural members of the BWF Vetting Panel as well as the BWF Independent Hearing Panel.

Further details of the 82nd BWF AGM will be published on the BWF website (linked here).