Thessaloniki hosts the World Sambo Championships for cadets, youth and juniors

Thessaloniki will be the world capital of youth sambo from October 2 to 4, 2026, as it hosts the World Sambo Championships for cadets, youth and juniors, as the International Sambo Federation (FIAS) announces. The competitions will be held at the PAOK sports arena, known as the “Palataki”, which with more than 8,500 seats is the largest private arena in Greece.

According to Greek City Times, athletes from more than 40 countries are taking part in this world championship, among them Greece, Serbia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United States. The event is organised by FIAS together with the Hellenic Federation of Sambo, Kurash and Chidaoba.

Competitors will be divided into three age categories: cadets aged 14–16 (born 2010–2012), youth aged 16–18 (born 2008–2010) and juniors aged 18–20 (born 2006–2008); combat sambo will be held only for male juniors, according to the official FIAS announcement. In total, 55 sets of medals will be awarded in sport sambo and combat sambo.

The programme starts today, Friday, with the preliminary bouts and the opening ceremony at 17:30, while the competitions continue on Saturday and Sunday. All bouts will be streamed live on the sambo.live platform.

The World Sambo Championships for cadets, youth and juniors take place from October 2 to 4 at the PAOK sports arena in Thessaloniki. Illustrative photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0, Yevrowl).