Pan American Taekwondo Union

What Pan American Taekwondo Union does

Pan American Taekwondo Union (PATU) is a non-profit continental sports association founded in 1976 and headquartered in Aguascalientes, Mexico, that governs and promotes taekwondo across North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean. It operates as one of five Continental Unions recognized by World Taekwondo, coordinating 45 National Member Associations (MNAs) that feed athletes into continental competition. The organization sanctions four primary competition categories — Kyorugi (Olympic-style sparring), Poomsae (forms), ParaTaekwondo (adaptive), and Team Kyorugui — and delivers the PATU 12 competition circuit alongside flagship events such as the WT President's Cup America and the Pan American Games taekwondo program. PATU also runs referee certification, athlete ranking systems, and development camps that feed Olympic (since 2000) and Paralympic (since 2020) qualification pathways.

PATU's underlying technology stack is third-party rather than proprietary: competition operations run on Simply Compete's Global Membership System (GMS) platform, which handles registration, licensing, rankings, and education; scoring relies on Daedo International's Protective Scoring System (PSS) under an exclusive 2022-2025 agreement; communications go through a bilingual website, YouTube (PATULIVE), Instagram, Facebook, and email; and merchandise sales run through an in-house e-commerce shop. There is no proprietary AI/ML, data platform, or mobile application described in the available data.

As a non-profit federation, PATU does not pursue equity-funded monetization. Revenue mechanics are event-cycle driven and include MNA membership contributions, athlete and referee registration fees, host-country arrangements, equipment and technology sponsorships (Daedo, 1Kpnp, 1Uptkd, 1Maxwin, 1Medimex), IOC-linked grants via World Taekwondo affiliation, and merchandise sales. Customer segments are primarily the 45 institutional MNA members, with downstream athletes, referees, and coaches as participants rather than paying customers in the conventional sense. Leadership rests with President Juan Manuel López Delgado (also Vice President of World Taekwondo) and Secretary General Mario Mandel Vaisman.

Name

Pan American Taekwondo Union

Legal name

Pan American Taekwondo Union

Website

https://patutkd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Pan American Taekwondo Union (PATU) is a non-profit continental federation, founded in 1976 and headquartered in Mexico, that governs taekwondo across the Americas through 45 National Member Associations, sanctioning Kyorugi, Poomsae, ParaTaekwondo, and Team competitions and delivering Olympic and Paralympic qualification pathways.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Federation Governance

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional/Continental Confederations & Associations (MPAKAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Olympic & Multi-Sport Governing Bodies (IOC/IPC, Continental Games Federations) (MPAKAFAA), Disability & Adaptive Sport Governing Bodies (Paralympic & Sport-Specific) (MPAKAFAL)

Keywords

• Taekwondo governance
• Sports federation services
• Olympic qualification pathway
• Continental sports union
• Parataekwondo competitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Aguascalientes

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership and Event Operations: PATU operates as a non-profit continental association that manages taekwondo competitions, athlete rankings, referee certification, and developmental programs across 45 member nations in the Americas.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PATU is a non-profit continental association that governs and organizes taekwondo across the Americas through 45 National Member Associations. It sanctions and delivers continental competitions across Kyorugi (sparring), Poomsae (forms), ParaTaekwondo, and Team Kyorugui disciplines, including the PATU 12 circuit and major championships such as the WT President's Cup America, and provides the exclusive pathway for Pan American athletes to qualify for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It also operates referee certification programs, athlete ranking systems, and development camps for member federations.

Product overview

The Pan American Taekwondo Union (PATU) is a non-profit continental sports federation that organizes and sanctioning taekwondo competitions across the Americas. PATU operates a portfolio of event products including the prestigious WT President's Cup America, the PATU 12 Series (featuring competitions in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras, Argentina, and Mexico), and various Kyorugi, Poomsae, ParaTaekwondo, and Team Kyorugui events. The organization also provides referee registration services through an integrated platform and operates an e-commerce shop. Events are managed through the Simply Compete GMS platform for registration, licensing, and rankings management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PATU 12: Competition circuit series organized by PATU featuring G-rank events for athlete ranking points

Products and services

• WT President's Cup America 2026 Annual prestigious taekwondo tournament featuring Kyorugi and Poomsae competitions held in Lima, Peru, August 26-28, 2026, for athletes from member national federations across the Americas.
• PATU 12 Series Events A series of Pan American taekwondo competitions held across multiple countries including Peru (Lima), Ecuador (Quito), Colombia (Sogamoso), Honduras (Tegucigalpa), Argentina (Buenos Aires), and Mexico (Cancun), awarding G-rank ranking points to athletes.
• Campeonato Panamericano Online Abierto de Poomsae 2026 Online open Pan American Poomsae championship taking place August 1-20, 2026, enabling remote participation by athletes from member national federations.
• AAU Taekwondo National Championships — Pan Am Series PATU12 National-level PATU12-rated taekwondo championships held in Florida, USA from June 28 to July 4, 2026, featuring Kyorugi and Poomsae competitions for athletes across the Americas.
• FISU America 2026 Taekwondo Championships University-level taekwondo championships for the Americas region held July 23-24, 2026 in Lima, Peru, featuring Kyorugi and Poomsae competitions for student-athletes.
• Kyorugi Competitions Olympic-style sparring taekwondo competitions where athletes compete in head-to-head combat using kicks and punches with electronic scoring systems, sanctioned by PATU across the Americas.
• Poomsae Competitions

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% increase in Olympic qualifiers via ranking during Paris 2024 cycle compared to Tokyo 2020 cycle

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Daedo InternationalcoreTechnology or Integration · 12 November 2021Exclusive four-year agreement (2022-2025) with Spanish equipment company for PSS (Protective Scoring System) technology. Daedo provides scoring equipment for PATU competitions and supports developing countries in taekwondo expansion and athlete preparation.
• World TaekwondocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPATU operates as one of five continental unions under World Taekwondo's global governance structure. WT is the international governing body for taekwondo recognized by the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee.
• Simply CompetecoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of the GMS (Global Membership System) platform used for event registration, competition management, athlete rankings, licensing, and referee certification. Extended contract with World Taekwondo to serve all 211 member national associations.
• International Olympic CommitteecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough World Taekwondo membership, PATU is affiliated with the IOC. Taekwondo has been included in the Olympic Games since 2000 and the Paralympic Games since 2020.
• Sponsors (Daedo, 1Kpnp, 1Uptkd, 1Maxwin, 1Medimex)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerEquipment and technology sponsors supporting PATU competitions and events

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• International Judo Federation: Global Olympic combat-sport federation with mature continental and national federation architecture. Useful benchmark for the scale, media rights, and sponsorship structure that PATU's continental taekwondo circuit could reach over time.
• Pan American Sports Organization (PASO): Continental multi-sport association overseeing the Pan American Games, in which PATU-delivered taekwondo is a participating sport. Functions as the supra-continental governing layer for sport in the Americas.
• World Taekwondo: The global governing body for taekwondo, recognized by the IOC and IPC. Direct hierarchical counterpart to PATU as the parent organization of which PATU is one of five continental unions, operating with the same sport but at a worldwide scope.
• World Karate Federation: International federation governing another IOC-recognised combat sport with overlapping continental and national federation structures. Comparable in governance model and continental union hierarchy to PATU.

Direct peers

• European Taekwondo Union: One of the four other World Taekwondo-recognised continental unions, serving European national federations. Operates an analogous event calendar, ranking system, and Olympic qualification pathway within its own region.
• Oceania Taekwondo Union: The fifth World Taekwondo continental union covering the Oceania region. Structurally identical to PATU in role and scope but operating at a smaller geographic scale.
• Asian Taekwondo Union: Sister continental union under World Taekwondo governing taekwondo across Asia. Shares PATU's organizational structure of national member federations and continental competition circuits.
• African Taekwondo Union: Another of the five World Taekwondo continental unions, operating across Africa with the same mandate of promoting taekwondo, organising championships, and managing Olympic qualification within its territory.
• Korean Taekwondo Association (WT Affiliated): National member federation under the Asian Taekwondo Union serving the sport's country of origin. Comparable to USA Taekwondo but as a peer MNA type to a different continental union, illustrating PATU's equivalent member-federation structure in another region.

Regional players

• USA Taekwondo: One of PATU's 45 member national federations and historically the highest-profile MNA within PATU's region. Operates its own domestic competition circuit that feeds into PATU's continental events.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@PATULIVE
• Instagraminstagram.com/panamerican_taekwondo_union
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/patu-taekwondo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pan American Taekwondo Union