ASTANA, Kazakhstan, September 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The elections to the Board of Directors of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) were held in Cancun, Mexico. Under the auspices of a special electoral commission and independent auditors, the vote was secret among voting members of the ITF. Bulat Utemuratov, President of the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation, was re-elected as a member of the Board of Directors for a new term, from 2023 to 2027. It will be his third term as a member of the Board of Directors.
Such recognition and trust from the global tennis community is testimony to the consistent delivery of election promises and the execution of vital tasks to advance the global tennis agenda. Over the past four years, Bulat Utemuratov has contributed to paying special attention to transparency issues within the organization, as well as increasing organizational effectiveness by introducing necessary governance changes, such as the separation of functions between the president and the CEO, in line with best corporate practices. Appropriate amendments were made to the ITF's internal documents and statutes to incorporate these changes.
As vice president of the ITF, Bulat Utemuratov also worked to advance children's tennis, especially in the under-12 categories, organizing several regional team competitions. This age is critical for children's development because they need to practice in international tournaments, but most young players do not have enough resources to travel. To address the problem, aid was granted to five of the world's most needy regions: Oceania, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. The KTF president personally provided more than $3 million in additional funding to help organize the regional team championships, which involved more than 1,000 children from all five regions.
"I believe that the tennis community must unite as much as possible to realize the enormous potential of our sport, which is in the top three in terms of audience, but barely in the top ten in terms of financial income. We have to do everything possible for taking advantage of our opportunities, providing many more resources to build new courts and facilities, organize tournaments and finance talented players in all corners of the world," said Bulat Utemuratov after the announcement of the voting results.
In 2021, Kazakhstan increased the number of votes it has to exercise at the annual general meeting (AGA) from 5 to 7. This is the third highest level of membership of the six that the ITF grants to national federations. Representatives from 155 countries voted in favor of this decision at the 2021 AGM, a sign of the significant progress made to develop tennis in Kazakhstan, which is now among the top 20 tennis powers in the world.
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