# International Go Federation

The International Go Federation (IGF) is an international organization that connects the various national Go federations around the world.

## Role

The role of the IGF is to promote the sport of Go throughout the world, promote amicable relations among members and improve world go organization. It does so by carrying out the following activities:
* Organizing the World Amateur Go Championship and other international Go tournaments;
* Publishing and distributing to members up-to-date information on world Go activities, through bulletins or on the IGF website;
* Other activities pertaining to the international development of Go.

## Policies

The IGF is an apolitical and non-religious organization, and strives to promote fair play amongst all players.

## History

The Japan Go Association organized the first World Go Amateur Championship in Japan, in 1979. Many of the top Go players from around the world and representatives from the major National Go Associations attended the event. Its success led to the founding of the International Go Federation on March 18, 1982, with Shizuo Asada presiding over the original 29 founding members.
On April 7, 2006, the IGF became a member of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).
The IGF is one of the founding member of the IMSA (International Mind Sports Association).
The IGF organizes the yearly World Amateur Go Championship, which attracts over 65 countries.

## Tournaments

* List of professional Go tournaments
* World Amateur Go Championship
* International Amateur Pair Go Championship
* International Amateur Baduk Championship
* World Youth Go Championship
* European Go Championship
* European Pair Go Championship
* Asian Go Championship
* Pan American Go Championship
* Ibero American Go Championship

## Members

As of December 2017 the IGF has 77 member nations: 39 in Europe, 18 in Asia, 15 in the Americas, 3 in Africa and 2 in Oceania. It also has five Association Members, which cover multiple countries: the World Pair Go Association, the Federación Iberoamericana de Go, the European Go Federation, the Ing Changk Wei-Chi Education Foundation and the Asian Go Federation.
77 Nations in 2023:
* 39 in Europe: ARM, AUT, AZE, BLR, BEL, BIH, BUL, CRO, CYP, CZE, DEN, FIN, FRA, GEO, GER, HUN, ISL, IRL, ISR, ITA, KAZ, LAT, LTU, LUX, NED, NOR, POL, POR, ROU, RUS, SRB, SVK, SLO, ESP, SWE, SUI, TUR, UKR, GBR
* 18 in Asia: BRU, CHN, TPE, HKG, IND, INA, IRI, JPN, MAC, MAS, MGL, NEP, PRK, PHI, SIN, KOR, THA, VIE
* 15 in Americas: ARG, BRA, CAN, CHI, COL, CRC, CUB, ECU, GUA, MEX, PAN, PER, URU, USA, VEN
* 3 in Africa: MAD, MAR, RSA
* 2 in Oceania: AUS, NZL
5 Association Members:
* World Pair Go Association
* Federación Iberoamericana de Go
* European Go Federation
* Ing Changk Wei-Chi Education Foundation
* Asian Go Federation

## IGF Presidents

* Shizuo Asada, Professional Go Player and founding President of the IGF, 1982–1997
* Fumio Watanabe, 1997–2001
* Matsuo Toshimitsu, 2001–2004
* Masao Kato, Professional 9-dan Go player, 2004–2005 (unfortunately was taken ill and died at the End of 2004)
* Norio Kudo, Professional 9-dan Go player, 2005–2007
* Hiromu Okabe, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Nihon Ki-in, President of the Denso Corporation, 2007–2009
* Otake Hideo, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Nihon Ki-in, 2009–2010
* Chang Zhenming, Vice-chairman and President of CITIC Group, 2010–2012
* Koichiro Matsuura, President of World Pair Go Association and former Director General of UNESCO, 2012-2014
* Seokhyun Hong, Chairman of the Korea Baduk Association, President of the Joongang Media Network, 2014-2016
* Chang Zhenming, President of CITIC Group, June 4, 2016 – present