Lisa Allan has been unanimously elected to the role of General Secretary of the International Judo Federation (IJF) at the IJF Congress in Doha. Lisa, from Edinburgh, has become the first woman and British person to hold this position. The role of IJF General Secretary is one of the highest positions in global judo and one which holds significant influence on the sport.

With a wealth of experience on the International Judo stage, Lisa has been involved in Judo since 1976 where she started at Tora Scotia Judo Club in Leith, Edinburgh. Since then, she has held several prestigious positions in Scottish sport, European and International Judo. As the Judo Manager for the organising committee for the Olympics and Paralympic Games in London 2012, Lisa oversaw the delivery of what is arguably the biggest Judo event in world sport. Lisa has held the position of Events Director at the International Judo Federation since 2013, managing and developing events on the IJF World Judo Tour. Since 2017, she has also held the position of Executive Committee Member where she has worked collaboratively to implement IJF activities within the framework of the IJF aims.

Dr Lisa Allan said, “I’m grateful to the British Judo Association and to UK Sport for having supported my candidature and I am thankful to all the voters from the national federations for the trust they put in me to become the new IJF General Secretary. I am happy to be able to continue the fantastic work undertaken by Jean-Luc Rougé in the past years.”

The election for the position of General Secretary took place at the IJF Congress on 4th May 2023 in Doha.