Swedish National Team coach Jörgen Hamberg: “IMMAF is a big scam”

Swedish National Team coach Jörgen Hamberg. Photo: Sweep

As Frontkick reported earlier today, The Swedish MMA Federation has decided to leave the International MMA Federation (IMMAF) with immediate effect.

But, what does it mean to Swedish MMA, our fighters and their participation in future IMMAF events?

Frontkick got hold of Swedish National Team head coach Jörgen Hamberg to get answers to some burning questions.

“As a National Team coach I think it sucks for the athletes. It’s a really great experience for them to compete internationally on this level,” Hamberg says.

“In a democratic and economical perspective, however, it’s absolutely the right decision. SMMAF should not participate in giving IMMAF money. They are ripping off athletes.”

Jörgen Hamberg: “It’s just a big scam”

The coach explains that the SMMAF and the Swedish National Team pay more and more money to IMMAF every year, but get less back from from the organization for every tournament.

“We said that we would go to the IMMAF World Championship in Albania last year. 2022 would be our last tournament,” Hamberg says. “For the sake of our athletes, Sweden has tried to negotiate with IMMAF, to make them be transparent. But we just got bullshit back. It’s just a big scam.”

According to the Swedish National Team coach, there has been a lot of controversy, including potential economic crime, ince the IMMAF president Kerrith Brown took over the organization.

“The president, Kerrith Brown, made a lot of dirty financial decisions,” Hamberg says. “He puts the money somewhere else. They dismantled the democratic system in IMMAF, moved the finances from a Swedish bank to a bank with less transparency, and refused to account for the economy. It feels like it’s all a big financial crime.”

“We don’t want to contribute to that. They are laughing in our faces. Money corrupts, it’s as simple as that. We dissociate with this.”

Read more: Swedish Rankings: Top 10 middleweights in Sweden

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