The French Federation (FFBoxe) announced on Thursday. that the French women’s boxing team have been barred from the boxing world championships because the late delivery of their gender test results.

Last month World Boxing announced that women wanting to compete in the event in Liverpool that starts on Thursday would have to undergo mandatory genetic sex testing under its new policy.

Such tests have been banned in France since a law was passed in 1994, except under strict conditions, so the French federation had to wait till they reached England in order to proceed with them.

The five-member team underwent testing in a World Boxing-accredited laboratory.

However, the French federation said on Thursday that the lab would be unable to provide the results in time for its fighters to be eligible for the championships, which take place from 4-14 September in north west England.

In a statement sent to AFP, World Boxing laid the blame firmly at the door of the respective national federations.

“Since World Boxing first announced its intention to introduce mandatory sex testing to determine the chromosomal sex of a male or female at birth, the organisation has made it clear that testing will be the responsibility of National Federations (NFs),” read the statement.

“They have the closest links and most access to their boxers and are best placed to manage the testing process.

“They also oversee the entry process for boxers so know which boxers need to be tested and when.

“It is very disappointing for the boxers that some National Federations have not been able to complete this process in time which means that some athletes have not made it through the sports entry process for the World Boxing Championships.”

Marie Barsacq the French Sports Minister said the decision is “inadmissible” and FFBoxe were left seething over the decision.

“It is with stupefaction and indignation that the French team learned on Wednesday evening the French women’s boxing team would not be able to compete in the first world championships organised by World Boxing,” FFBoxe said in a statement.

“Despite guarantees given to us by World Boxing, the laboratory which they recommended to us was not up to the task of delivering the results on time.

“As a result our athletes as well as those from other countries have been caught in this trap and excluded.”

Maelys Richol, one of the five French boxers affected, said she felt “frustration, anger and disappointment”.

In late May, World Boxing announced they were introducing mandatory gender testing to determine the eligibility of male and female athletes wanting to take part in its competitions.

Under World Boxing’s policy, fighters over 18 who want to participate in their competitions need to take a PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, genetic test.

“World Boxing’s policy on gender eligibility, which includes mandatory sex testing, is designed to ensure the safety of all participants and deliver a competitive level playing field,” they said in Thursday’s statement.

Last week, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif filled an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge World Boxing’s introduction of the genetic sex test.

Khelif, along with Taiwanese fighter Lin Yu-ting, was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships by previous world governing body the International Boxing Association (IBA) for allegedly failing gender eligibility tests.

The pair later made headlines at the 2024 Paris Olympics where they won gold medals after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) permitted them to compete.

The IOC said competitors were eligible for the women’s division in Paris if their passports said they were female and made it clear last year this is “not a transgender case”.

Boxing has undergone a major restructure in recent years after the IBA was stripped of its powers for failing to implement reforms.

The IOC oversaw governance of boxing at the Paris Olympics before World Boxing was granted provisional recognition as the sport’s international governing federation by the IOC in February 2025..