The IOC will decide the Brisbane programme at its Session in April 2027. Only sports governed by an IOC-recognised federation can be on it. Besides the federations of the Olympic sports, the IOC recognises 38 others. None of them governs jiu-jitsu.
Melbourne — On 31 October the International Olympic Committee set the timetable for deciding what sports will be played at the Brisbane 2032 Games. In December its Executive Board will sort disciplines three ways: those recommended automatically, those that go on to a comparison phase, and candidates that drop out. In April 2027 the 147th IOC Session, in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, will make the final decision. Brisbane is the first Games to be built under the IOC's new method, which the IOC says it will apply "with a degree of flexibility" because the city's planning is so far advanced.
The question for this paper's readers is whether jiu-jitsu can be among them. Under the IOC's own published rules, it cannot, and the reason is not the sport. It is who governs it.
The IOC says the programme is drawn "from among the sports governed by the International Federations" it recognises, and that a host city's own proposals must also come from sports run by recognised federations. In August it narrowed the field for Brisbane further: a federation already on the programme may put forward one more discipline, and any other recognised federation may apply only if its discipline was added to Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024 or LA28 by those cities' organisers.
On 4 November the IOC's list of recognised federations, beyond those of the Olympic sports, ran to 38. Muaythai is on it, and so are sambo, kickboxing, wushu and karate. The Ju-Jitsu International Federation is not. Neither is the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, or any other body that governs the sport.
Every line below is taken from the source named in it, read on 4 November 2026.
| Sport · federation | IOC recognised? | Can it be a Brisbane 2032 candidate? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karate · World Karate Federation | Yes | Eligible to apply: on the Tokyo 2020 programme as an organisers' addition. | IOC list · IOC, Aug 2026 |
| Muaythai · IFMA | Yes | Recognised, but not in Tokyo, Paris or LA28: not eligible under the August rule. | IOC list |
| Sambo · FIAS | Yes | As muaythai. | IOC list |
| Kickboxing · WAKO | Yes | As muaythai. | IOC list |
| Ju-jitsu · JJIF | No | No. Not a recognised federation. Its Congress on 14 November lists "IOC Recognition process" on the agenda. | IOC list · JJIF |
| Brazilian jiu-jitsu · IBJJF | No | No. Not a recognised federation. | IOC list |
The name covers two different things. Ju-jitsu under the JJIF is a sport of its own, with a fighting system and a ne-waza (ground) system, and it has been at the World Games since 1997. It is the version at the Asian Games, which this paper reported in Vol. 1 No. 4 is there as a "regional sport" nominated by West Asia, and which Australians cannot enter because Australia is not a member of the Olympic Council of Asia. In Australia it is governed by the Australian Ju Jitsu Federation, which describes itself as a member of the JJIF and holds its national championships in Sydney on 13 December.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the sport this paper mostly records, is run internationally by the IBJJF, a private federation. The Australian Federation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which runs the state and national events this paper reads every week, says it works "in accordance with the IBJJF guidelines". Neither body claims an Olympic path. A 2021 petition to bring Brazilian jiu-jitsu to Brisbane has 193 verified signatures.
For either sport the first step is the same, and it comes before any Games: the federation has to be recognised by the IOC. The IOC says a sport must first be governed by an international federation that conforms to the Olympic Charter and the World Anti-Doping Code. The JJIF has had its anti-doping programme run by the International Testing Agency since 2019, and its members meet in Abu Dhabi on 14 November with "IOC Recognition process" and "Integrity and Good governance" on the agenda. This paper will report what that Congress decides.
Even recognition would not open Brisbane. The August rule admits only recognised federations whose disciplines were added to Tokyo, Paris or LA28. Under the rules as the IOC has published them, the earliest Games jiu-jitsu could reach is the one after Brisbane.
A report published on 3 November by the website Ministry of Sport said the Brisbane organisers could propose up to four host-specific disciplines, named six sports said to be in preliminary talks, and gave an athlete cap of 10,500. None of that appears in the IOC's announcement of 31 October, and this paper could not find it in any other IOC document. We have not relied on it.
The December classification and the April 2027 Session in Punta Cana are from the IOC's announcement of 31 October 2026 (olympics.com). The eligibility rule for candidate disciplines is from the IOC's update of 13 August 2026 (olympics.com). That the programme and host proposals come only from sports governed by recognised federations, and what recognition requires, is from the IOC's own answers (programme, recognition).
The 38 recognised federations were read from the IOC's list on 4 November 2026 (olympics.com). The JJIF Congress date, place and agenda are from the JJIF's congress page (ju-jitsu.sport); its anti-doping arrangement from the International Testing Agency. The Australian Ju Jitsu Federation's membership and championship date are from its site; the AFBJJ's words from its history page; the petition from change.org.
Rules change, and the IOC has said it will apply its method to Brisbane with flexibility. This article describes the rules as the IOC has published them on 4 November 2026. If the IOC, the JJIF or any federation says otherwise, it will be added here, dated.