This year’s Sports Business Award 2022 for Best Sports Governing Body Initiative was awarded to the ITTF Foundation for the ITTF Parkinson’s World Table Tennis Championships (PWTTC). The award is bestowed annually to celebrate the very best in sports business.

HRH Princess Zeina Rashid of Jordan, ITTF Foundation Board Member, received the award in the ceremony held in the Kia Oval, Kennington, London, on 18 November 2022.

“We are honoured to receive a Sports Business Awards. Under the programme TT4Health, our goal with PWTTC is to promote the physical, social, and psychological benefits of table tennis for people with Parkinson’s. This recognition motivates us to deliver the best experience for people with Parkinson’s in the world championships, and to explore how to extend this idea to benefit people suffering from other cognitive disorder.” HRH Princess Zeina Rashid of Jordan

The PWTTC aims to raise awareness of the positive health benefits of table tennis for people with Parkinson’s disease and to provide opportunities for the persons diagnosed with it and their families to exchange ideas and experiences.

In 2021, 136 Parkinson’s athletes from 24 countries participated in the second PWTTC in Berlin, Germany, totalling 431 matches played.

ITTF President, Petra Sörling, commented,

“The PWTTC is a very important event for the ITTF Group, and I am pleased that it was recognised as the Best Sports Governing Body Initiative at the Sports Business Awards 2022. We will continue doing our utmost to positively impact the lives for people with Parkinson’s disease using table tennis.”