The British Ju-Jitsu Association is facing losing its status as the national governing body for the sport in the UK ©BJJAGB

The British Ju-Jitsu Association (BJJAGB) is facing missing out on state funding and losing its status as the national governing body for the sport in the United Kingdom.

Sport England has warned the BJJAGB will be derecognised with immediate effect if it is unable to demonstrate that it is fully compliant by October 1 this year.

"Following derecognition, neither the BJJAGB, nor the sport of ju jitsu, would be eligible for public funding from Sport England or the other national sports councils," a statement from Sport England read.

"A martial art, or any sport designated as high risk, cannot receive public funding in England without a recognised national governing body."

The warning comes after the Home Country Sports Councils found that the BJJAGB did not meet the Sports Councils Recognition Policy criteria to hold national governing body status for the sport in the UK.

A review into the BJJAGB was launched in November last year after Sport England and the Home Country Sports Councils received information regarding the "governance of the organisation and behaviour of individuals at the governing body".

It was found that the BJJAGB, which was formed in 1960, had not met six of the nine criteria for recognition.

The British Ju-Jitsu Association was found to have failed in several requirements for recognition including governance structure and the organisation's history ©BJJAGB/Facebook
The British Ju-Jitsu Association was found to have failed in several requirements for recognition including governance structure and the organisation's history ©BJJAGB/Facebook

The review revealed that the BJJAGB had failed to "demonstrated it has an update-to-date or fit-for-purpose constitution" and had not provided minutes of its Annual General Meetings for the past two years.

There were also issues with the BJJAGB’s governance structure after it was concluded that its policies in equality, diversity and inclusion and anti-doping did meet the recognition requirements and the organisation had failed to provide any safety management information.

The report also ruled that the BJJAGB had not made a case for it being "the most influential NGB in its sport".

The two other criteria that the body had failed in were in "organisation vision and development" and "sporting development" having not provided their plan as part of the review process, Sport England said.

Sport England, sportscotland, Sport Wales and Sport Northern Ireland unanimously accepted the review's findings and agreed to proceed to derecognition of the BJJAGB.

According to Sport England, the Home Country Sports Councils wrote to the BJJA this morning to inform the body of the decision and would formally begin the derecognition process.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu clubs, projects and associations are expected to continue to be eligible to receive grants from Sport England, provided they are affiliated to the UK Brazilian Jui-Jitsu Association which is separate to the BJJAGB.