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History of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) 

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for badminton. It was founded in 1934, then known as the International Badminton Federation. 

IBF later merged with the World Badminton Federation in 1981, and in 2006, was renamed BWF. The federation’s first headquarters was in Cheltenham, UK, which was relocated to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2005. 

Presidents of BWF 

George Alan Thomas was IBF’s first president, holding the position for more than 20 years. Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen has been at the helm of the BWF since 2013, taking over Kang Young-joong of South Korea to become the 19th president. 

Starting with nine founding members, the organization has now grown into more than 170 member countries under five continental confederations. Through the years, the sport had a steady growth, eventually becoming an official discipline at the Summer Olympics in 1992. 

Tournaments organized by the BWF and its partners 

The BWF organizes five major Grade 1 tournaments: World Championships, Thomas Cup, Uber Cup, Sudirman Cup, and the Olympic Games. The BWF World Tour, which is Grade 2 event, comprises of competitions that make up the season calendar. There are also Grade 3 tourneys, known as Continental Circuit. 

Current partners of the BWF include HSBC, TotalEnergies, Infront Sports, and M88 Mansion.