Shaaban takes over the technical framework for taekwondo at the Los Angeles Games
World Taekwondo is entering a new phase of preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games with Mohamed Shaaban in one of the key operational roles. World Taekwondo confirmed that the Egyptian sports official and member of the organisation's Council has been appointed technical delegate for LA28, which means he will oversee the preparation and implementation of the competition system in Olympic taekwondo. It is a role that is less visible to the wider public than the performances of athletes, but it is crucial for the rules, technology, work of officials, field-of-play schedule and the overall credibility of the competition. According to the report by the specialised portal MASTKD, this will be Shaaban's second consecutive Olympic term in that position, after he held the same role for Paris 2024. With this, World Taekwondo has opted for continuity in a period in which the sport is preparing for a new Olympic presentation in the United States of America.
Shaaban's appointment comes at a moment when the key points of the Olympic cycle are already being defined for taekwondo. World Taekwondo stated in an earlier announcement that Olympic taekwondo competitions in Los Angeles will be held from 26 to 29 July 2028 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The official LA28 organiser confirmed in its competition schedule that the Olympic Games will run from 14 to 30 July 2028, and that Los Angeles will host the largest Games to date, with 51 sports at 49 competition venues. In such an organisational framework, taekwondo must simultaneously meet the requirements of sporting integrity, television production, athlete safety, spectator experience and clear judging. That is precisely why Shaaban is basing his LA28 plan on rules, scoring technology and constant coordination with local organisers.
Second consecutive term and greater expectations after Paris
According to data from his World Taekwondo election profile, Shaaban was the technical delegate for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a member of the World Taekwondo Council from 2021 to 2025 and chair of the Games Committee since 2017. The same profile states that he was previously vice-chair of the World Taekwondo Technical Committee, a member of the Egyptian national team from 1994 to 2004, chair of the technical body for Africa and holder of a seventh-dan black belt. Such a combination of competitive, technical and managerial experience explains why his role is important in the Olympic cycle. The technical delegate is not merely a protocol function, but the person who must align the interests of the international federation, the organising committee, judges, athletes, coaches, television partners and technology suppliers.
MASTKD states that Shaaban is the youngest technical delegate in the history of Olympic taekwondo and the first African representative to hold this function at multiple editions of the Games. Shaaban himself described the appointment as the trust of World Taekwondo president Chungwon Choue and as a responsibility that goes beyond personal success. In practice, his second term means that the Paris model is not being discarded, but is being used as a starting point for Los Angeles. During the Paris cycle, according to World Taekwondo statements and preparation reports, regular contact with organisers and checks of the field of play were part of the long-term plan. For LA28, a similar but technically even more demanding process is expected because the American market brings different production, logistical and spectator standards.
What Shaaban's Olympic plan includes
Shaaban's plan for Los Angeles, according to published information, rests on several connected areas. The first is the simplification and consistent application of competition rules. Over recent Olympic cycles, taekwondo has significantly changed the way bouts are scored and presented to the public, especially because of electronic body protectors, sensors and video reviews. The second area is the further improvement of the Protector and Scoring System, known as PSS, which records valid strikes and helps judges make decisions. The third area is the inclusion of athletes and coaches through existing committees, so that feedback from the mat can be translated into operational decisions before the Games themselves.
Special emphasis has been placed on using major competitions as testing platforms. World Taekwondo generally uses world championships, Grand Prix events and other major international competitions to test rules, the work of officials, scoring technology, bout format and communication with the public. According to the MASTKD report, precisely such an approach will be continued in the cycle toward Los Angeles. This means that any changes will not be tested for the first time on the Olympic field of play, but will be introduced and checked earlier, under conditions of great pressure and international competition. For a sport in which one judging assessment or technical signal can decide a medal, such preparation is not a detail, but the foundation of trust.
Rules are changing before LA28, but the aim remains the same foundation
World Taekwondo states in its competition rules that their purpose is to standardise competitions promoted or recognised by the international federation, continental unions and national associations, so that competitions are conducted fairly and smoothly. That wording shows why rule changes are a sensitive part of the Olympic cycle. If the rules are not clear, athletes and coaches have difficulty planning tactics, judges find them harder to apply, and spectators have more difficulty understanding what is happening in a bout. If the rules are too complex, the television broadcast and audience experience can also lose clarity. Shaaban therefore speaks not only about technical corrections, but about a broader goal: the competition must be understandable, consistent and credible.
According to MASTKD's report on the new combat rules, World Taekwondo approved changes in Tashkent in April 2026 that should come into force at the Grand Prix in Rome. The official outline for the Roma 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix states that the event will be held from 5 to 7 June 2026 in Rome. This competition therefore gains additional importance because it can serve as the first serious test of the new regulatory framework in an elite environment. For LA28, it is important that any problems in interpreting rules, technology or the rhythm of bouts are identified early enough. The Olympic Games are not a place for improvisation, but the endpoint of years of preparation.
Scoring technology remains a central issue
Electronic scoring in taekwondo was introduced to reduce the space for subjectivity, but technology does not remove the need for clear rules and high-quality officials. The PSS system can register strikes, yet judges and technical staff must still understand situations in which technology, rules and the dynamics of the bout come into contact. Shaaban's focus on protective equipment and the scoring system is therefore a logical continuation of the sport's development. For athletes, it is crucial to know how points are awarded, coaches must have confidence in the review system, and spectators must be able to follow why the score changes. In the Olympic context, this also becomes a reputational issue for World Taekwondo.
Technology in taekwondo serves not only for more precise scoring, but also for a better presentation of the sport. At major competitions, the audience in the venue and viewers in front of screens expect a clear display of the score, penalties, video reviews and remaining time. If the technical system does not fit into the television production, the sport may appear slower or less clear than it really is. According to available information, Shaaban will also cooperate in Los Angeles with American production teams, which points to an intention to present the bouts attractively, but without undermining sporting rules. This is especially important because LA28 is announcing Games with a strong emphasis on innovation, new formats and powerful media presentation.
Los Angeles Convention Center as an operational test
After a venue visit in June 2025, World Taekwondo announced that a delegation led by president Chungwon Choue had toured the Los Angeles Convention Center, the planned venue for taekwondo competitions at LA28. The same announcement stated that representatives of the federation and the organising committee discussed the design of the field of play, the position of cameras and the technical table, the layout of the central field of play, seating for spectators, the warm-up area and functional rooms. These are details that often seem administrative to the public, but they directly affect the rhythm of the competition. If warm-up areas are too far away, if athlete movement is complicated or if camera positions do not follow the logic of the bout, the quality of the event can suffer.
The Los Angeles Convention Center will be part of a broader Olympic system in which, according to LA28 and World Taekwondo announcements, several indoor and combat sports will be organised in a densely connected urban environment. This can bring advantages, such as easier movement for the public and better use of existing infrastructure, but also challenges in accreditation, security zones, training schedules and the flow of officials. LA28 has emphasised that the Games will use existing venues and that it will not build new permanent infrastructure, which fits the broader Olympic direction of sustainability and more rational planning. For taekwondo, this means that the competition space must be adapted within an already existing large indoor structure, without losing the standards required by the international federation.
The role of athletes and coaches in decision-making
One of the important points of Shaaban's approach concerns communication with those who directly participate in bouts. According to the MASTKD report, World Taekwondo plans to continue involving athletes and coaches through existing committees so that their feedback is taken into account. This is especially important in a sport in which a rule change can alter tactics, preparation, selection of kicks and the way a bout is conducted. Coaches are often the first to notice uncertainties in the interpretation of rules, while athletes best feel how equipment and the scoring system behave in real conditions. A successful Olympic cycle therefore depends on whether technical rules will develop through dialogue, and not only by administrative decision.
Shaaban stated in his own vision for World Taekwondo that he sees the development of the sport through unity, innovation, growth, more transparent governance and investment in a new generation of athletes, coaches and officials. This vision fits well with his tasks for LA28 because Olympic taekwondo cannot be isolated from the wider structure of the sport. If national associations, judges and coaches do not understand the direction of changes, rules are more difficult to implement outside the biggest competitions. If digital tools and technology are used only at the top of the pyramid, without education in the wider system, the differences between elite and smaller competitions become greater. That is why preparation for LA28 can also be viewed as a test of how much World Taekwondo can connect elite sport with the global development of its base.
Taekwondo in the programme of the largest Games to date
LA28 announced that the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games will be the largest to date, with 51 sports, 49 competition venues and 18 zones in the Los Angeles region and Oklahoma City. The organiser also states that the Games will have a record share of female athletes, with 50.5 percent of the total quota allocated to women. In this large programme, taekwondo retains the status of an Olympic combat sport that must be fast, understandable and readable for television. According to the published schedule, the final weekend of the Games will include a large number of finals in different sports, including taekwondo. This further increases the pressure on organisers because the sport must function without delays in the densest part of the Olympic calendar.
For World Taekwondo, LA28 is an opportunity to continue showing the sport after Paris as global, technologically modern and institutionally stable. Shaaban's appointment shows that the federation is relying on continuity, but also that it expects further upgrades. In Los Angeles, it will not be enough simply to repeat the Paris model. It will have to be adapted to the venue, the audience, production standards and rules that will develop over the next two years. If the system of rules, scoring, officials and field-of-play organisation is aligned before the start of the Games, athletes will have clearer conditions, judges less room for inconsistency, and spectators better insight into the bouts that decide Olympic medals.
Sources:
- MASTKD – confirmation of Mohamed Shaaban's appointment as technical delegate for taekwondo at LA28 and description of the key areas of preparation (link)
- World Taekwondo – Mohamed Shaaban's profile for the 2025 World Taekwondo elections with information on functions, experience and vision (link)
- World Taekwondo – report on the LA28 venue visit and planning of the taekwondo competition at the Los Angeles Convention Center (link)
- LA28 – official announcement of the comprehensive competition schedule for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (link)
- World Taekwondo – Competition Rules and Interpretation, document on the purpose and application of competition rules (link)
- World Taekwondo / Simply Compete – official outline for the Roma 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix (link)
- MASTKD – report on approved changes to World Taekwondo combat rules ahead of the Grand Prix in Rome (link)