Announcement
A Message from BWF President | Badminton’s Next Boom
Dear membership and colleagues,
Late last year, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced the extension of its strategic partnership with Infront through to 2034, a milestone that reflects our shared commitment to excellence, innovation, and global growth. Now, I am delighted to share the bold new initiatives behind this partnership, designed to redefine our competition structures, elevate commercial appeal, enhance production standards, and transform the player and fan experience.
This marks one of the most ambitious and comprehensive transformations in badminton’s history. Every element, from competition formats with increased prize money, to broadcast strategy and sponsorship value chains, has been reimagined to meet the demands of a truly global sport in the 21st century. It is a bold undertaking, but it is exactly what our sport needs to thrive as we build a future that speaks to the next generation.
Since the beginning of our partnership with Infront in 2018, we have developed a dynamic ecosystem delivering consistent media exposure, innovative sponsor experiences, and sustained brand growth across the BWF World Tour and Major Championships. The next phase of this collaboration will elevate badminton further, strengthening our unified brand, expanding our digital footprint, and opening new opportunities across emerging and established markets in Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and Pan America.
As part of this next chapter, we have confirmed the hosts for the unified, six-tier, 36-tournament BWF World Tour for the 2027–2030 cycle, alongside enhancements to our BWF Major Championships. We will now have five Super 1000 tournaments, and, for the first time, Super 100 tournaments are fully integrated into the global circuit, creating a more inclusive and connected pathway across all levels of the sport. The next steps will be the release of the BWF Tournament Calendar 2027 and the completion of the host bidding process for the BWF Major Championships for 2027–2030. I extend my sincere thanks to all Members for the quality of their competitive proposals and congratulate the successful hosts. Your commitment and ambition are essential to delivering world-class tournaments with strong commercial foundations, technical excellence, and global reach.
In a world of endless entertainment choices, attention must be earned through creativity, technology, and storytelling. Badminton must be immersive, intelligent, and unforgettable. With Infront as our partner, we have the commercial strength, media expertise, and global reach to deliver on these ambitions, and I thank Infront for the continuation of our partnership.
Central to all of this is our commitment to the players, not only through increased prize money but also through elevating standards and conditions on and off the court. Our players are not just competitors; they are global icons. We must invest in creating an environment where they can perform at their best, be celebrated worldwide, and connect meaningfully with fans. When we elevate our players, we elevate our sport. That is why the player experience remains at the heart of our strategy.
For fans, this evolution means greater access, richer storytelling, and more engaging events. Through innovation, technology, and enhanced presentation, including festival-style activations, improved production standards, and a new dedicated OTT channel, every BWF tournament will be a celebration of badminton, capable of capturing attention in a highly competitive global sports landscape.
For our tournament hosts, this represents a stable and scalable commercial model that delivers real value. It is a long-term investment in sustainable growth, ensuring each tournament generates meaningful domestic and global impact. Above all, our ambition is to create a more inclusive and globally balanced future for badminton, where every region has a voice and a stage.
It is a promise to our players, Members, hosts, fans, partners, and global community that badminton is ready to lead, ready to achieve, and ready to shine. We are not simply shaping a series of tournaments. We are shaping a culture, identity, and opportunity. The future of badminton lies in our ability to be bold, inclusive, and globally relevant.
Finally, my heartfelt thanks to my colleagues on Council, our dedicated staff, and key stakeholders across the membership for your active and invaluable contributions. Your creativity, dedication, and strategic insight have shaped this vision. I am deeply proud of what we have built together and look forward to seeing these ambitions come to life.
Together we lead, together we achieve, together we shine.
Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul
BWF President
