The European Karate Championships are organised by the European Karate Federation each year.
History Events from 1966 to 1996 were organized by the European Karate Union. In 1961, Jacques Delcourt was appointed President of French Karate, which was at that stage, an associated member of the Judo Federation. In 1963, he invited six other known European federations (Italy, Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Spain) to come to France for the first-ever international karate event. Great Britain and Belgium accepted the invitation.
By 1965, the European Karate Union was created with Jacques Delcourt voted in as President. The following year the first European Karate Championships were held in Paris. The event drew roughly three hundred spectators and was shown live on television. It drew criticism for being too violent as there were many facial injuries. The EKU council had differing opinions about the cause(s) of the injuries. With opinions ranging from excessive violations of rules to lack of conditioning and blocking skill, this problem was addressed in some part, at the first referee course held in Rome. At that time, the refereeing rules were harmonised using the JKA rules as a basis.
The 2023 event was scheduled to be held in Moscow, Russia but the country was stripped of the right to host the event after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Editions EKU Championships (1966–1992) and EKF Championships (since 1993). Para Karate was added to championships since 2018.
EditionYearHost CityHost countryEventsOrganized by European Karate Union (EKU)11966 Paris 221967 London 231968 Paris 241969 London 251970 Hamburg 261971 Paris 271972 Brussels 581973 Valencia 591974 London 5101975 Ostend 5111976 Tehran 7121977 Paris 7131978 Geneva 7141979 Helsinki 9151980 Barcelona 12161981 Venice 12171982 Gothenburg 15181983 Madrid 15191984 Paris 16201985 Oslo 16211986 Madrid 16221987 Glasgow 16231988 Genoa 17241989 Titograd 17251990 Vienna 17261991 Hanover 18271992 's-Hertogenbosch 17Organized by European Karate Federation (EKF)281993 Prague 17291994 Birmingham 17301995 Helsinki 17311996 Paris 17321997 Santa Cruz de Tenerife 17331998 Belgrade Yugoslavia 17341999 Euboea 17352000 Istanbul 17362001 Sofia 17372002 Tallinn 17382003 Bremen 17392004 Moscow 17402005 Tenerife 17412006 Stavanger 17422007 Bratislava 17432008 Tallinn 17442009 Zagreb 16452010 Athens 16462011 Zürich 16472012 Santa Cruz de Tenerife 16482013 Budapest 16492014 Tampere 16502015 Istanbul 16512016 Montpellier 16522017 Kocaeli 16Para Karate532018 Novi Sad 16 + 6542019 Guadalajara 16 + 6552020 Baku Cancelled562021 Poreč 16 + 8572022 Gaziantep 16 + 8582023 Guadalajara 16 + 8592024 Zadar 16 + 8602025 Yerevan 16 + 8612026 Frankfurt 16 + 8622027 Paris -632028 Podgorica -Total (2025) 774 + 52
Medals
All-time medal table Karate (1966–2025) The following reflects the all-time medal counts as of the 1966 European Karate Championships:
All-time medal table Para Karate (2018–2025) The following reflects the all-time medal counts as of the 2025 European Karate Championships:
Medals table Europe Cadet, Junior and U21 (2000–2023)
The following reflects the all-time medal counts as of the 2000 European Karate Cadet, Junior and U21 Championships:
See also :fr:Championnats d'Europe de karaté juniors et cadets
References
External links European Karate Federation