The flag has changed hands. As the 2026 WKF World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships came to a close in Bielsko-Biała, the World Karate Federation passed its official banner to Karate México, the national federation that will stage the next edition of the youth Worlds. The World Karate Federation has approved Mexico as host of the XV World Cadet, Junior & U21 Championships in 2028, and the tatami will be laid in Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco.

A handover on the Polish tatami

The ceremony took place within the Championships in Bielsko-Biała, where WKF vice-president Davide Benetello presented the federation’s flag to the Mexican delegation. Karate México describes the gesture as a symbol of responsibility and of the relay to the next host nation, and as the start of a new period of preparation to welcome delegations from around the world. The photos released by the federation show the handover in front of the Bielsko-Biała 2026 backdrop and the Mexican squad lined up behind the white WKF banner.

Benetello added his own note on social media, congratulating Samantha Desciderio and the Mexican federation. Desciderio is the president of Karate México, and she was elected to the WKF Executive Committee at the WKF Congress held in Bielsko-Biała during the same event, according to her federation.

The handover closes a week of competition that our readers followed closely, from the record entry list to the closing day and the U21 world champions. The next chapter of that story now has an address.

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“They have passed us the baton”

After receiving the flag, Desciderio spoke of pride and responsibility. “They have passed us the baton, and we receive it with enormous pride, commitment and responsibility. We are deeply grateful for the trust and support of the World Karate Federation,” she said in the statement published by Karate México. “We will work with professionalism, dedication and excellence to offer an unforgettable experience to the athletes, coaches, referees and participating delegations.”

She went on: “All of Mexican karate is happy to host this World Championship. It is a source of pride for our country to be host once again of a competition of this magnitude and to show that Mexico is ready to take on major international challenges.”

Mexico’s world championship pedigree

Guadalajara 2028 will not be Mexico’s first world-level karate event. The federation recalls that Mexico City hosted a world championship in 1990 and that Monterrey staged another edition in 2004. More recently, Guadalajara itself appeared on the WKF calendar as the venue of the 2026 Karate One Youth League in June, an event at which, according to Karate México, the home team collected 31 medals.

That recent experience matters. A youth Worlds is one of the heaviest events on the WKF calendar, with cadet, junior and U21 divisions in kata and kumite across both genders, and Bielsko-Biała has just shown how large the field can become.

What we know, and what is still to come

At this stage, the host nation and the host city are confirmed. The dates of the 2028 Championships, the venue inside Guadalajara and the organising details have not yet been announced. Karate México says that a phase of planning and coordination now begins, so that the event meets the WKF’s highest international standards. We will report the schedule as soon as it is officially published.

For the cadets who just made their debut on the world stage in Poland, the message is simple: the next youth Worlds will be in Guadalajara.

Sources

Quotes translated from Spanish by karate.news. Photo: Karate México.