Mestre Paulo Ribeiro heads Brazilian delegation in Thailand in 2025

In July 2025, a delegation of 30 Brazilians traveled to Ayutthaya, Thailand, for the WBC Muaythai Summer Camp 2025, a technical training seminar in the birthplace of the sport. The head of the delegation was Mestre Paulo Ribeiro, president of FECAMTT, the Santa Catarina Traditional Muaythai Federation. The call-up came from the results at the Verona World Championship a month earlier.

Who traveled

According to the newspaper Página 3, the delegation was made up of six coaches and 24 athletes aged up to 22, and the camp began on Tuesday, July 15. From the region, coaches Elza Christine, from Itajaí, and Alexis Frederico Panossi, from Camboriú, took part, along with athletes from Balneário Camboriú.

The website Esporte Campeão, on July 24, reported that the delegation had been in the country since July 14 and described the team as three teachers and 28 athletes, aged 12 to 22. The figures in the two reports do not match, and this site records both versions. From Camboriú came teacher Fred Panossi and two athletes from the Panossi Team social project, with support from the city’s Municipal Sports Foundation. One of them, aged 16, was invited by the organizer to return to Thailand to train and compete in Asia; as a minor, this athlete is not identified here.

How the trip came about

Speaking to Página 3, the Mestre explained where the call-up came from: “We were called up based on the result of the World Championship held in Italy” (our translation). The trip was organized through an agreement between FECAMTT and the Thai government’s tourism body, which helped with the airfare.

Esporte Campeão detailed how the costs were split: the airfare was covered by the Thai government, through WBC Muaythai and FECAMTT; accommodation, food and ground transport were paid by the projects themselves, with community support, through raffles, street collections, food sales and local sponsorship.

What happens at a Summer Camp

According to the reports, the program combined technical training activities and visits to the country’s historic sites. For coaches, it is a chance to update their understanding of refereeing and fundamentals straight from the source. For young athletes, it is their first contact with Muaythai as a culture, not just as a competition. The wai kru ritual, the salute to the teacher before a fight, is part of that culture and often appears in the Mestre’s posts.

From Verona to Ayutthaya

The trip was a direct result of the 2025 WBC Muaythai World Championship, in Verona, Italy, where Balneário Camboriú won a youth world title and an adult silver. The story is in the article on the Verona World Championship. The photo illustrating this article is from that podium: from Thailand, the Mestre posted only videos.

Shortly before, in April 2025, FECAMTT had been declared a state public utility. The year closed a cycle that began with Muaythai’s entry into JASC, the Santa Catarina Open Games, in 2019.

Want to train Muaythai?

Mestre Paulo Ribeiro coaches athletes and teachers in Balneário Camboriú and the surrounding region. Visit the Muaythai page and contact him on Instagram @mestrepauloribeiro to book a trial class.