Change of Leadership

Hello all. I hope you’ve all had a nice Christmas and New Year. My name is Matt Furey-King, for those of you that don’t know me, I am an airsoft player from the UK. I founded UK Airsoft Players Union, and was President of European Airsoft Association 2011-2015.  I would like to let you know new leadership have been elected,  I have been selected as President of the EAA for 2019.

My aims for the EAA in 2019 are modest. I would like the EAA to remain ready to defend our hobby from restrictions. I would like to add more member associations to EAA, so that we share more information and support each other better. I would also like to post more information on our website to help players who travel internationally to games.

I would like to address something. It has been asked whether the EAA should implement standardised airsoft rules across Europe. Let me be clear- I am completely against that concept. I know that many of you are against it too. The EAA will not be pursuing this whilst I am President. As an ‘airsoft politician’ I see it as my job to protect you from additional regulations, not push more on you from outside your country. I hope you can enjoy airsoft the way you want to play it, and set rules of your choosing within your national laws.

I would like to give thanks to our previous president, Joachim Dekkers, who shepherded us through the near disaster that was proposal 2015/0269 aka ‘the EU attack on airsoft’. This was going to be a near ban on airsoft in Europe, we came close to loosing everything. After constant lobbying from Joachim’s EAA, and parts of the airsoft industry, the situation was turned around completely. By the end, airsoft devices were confirmed in EU law as non firearms, which is the most security our hobby has ever had. A remarkable achievement.

Thank you also to Ronald Meeuwissen for organising things behind the scenes, building our social media presence, and keeping our website up.

And finally, thanks to our member associations for their ongoing support;

• Airsoft Alliantie België (AAB)
• Hrvatski Airsoft Savez (HASS)
• Česká Federace Airsoftu (ČFA)
• Fédération Française d’Airsoft (FFA)
• Irish Airsoft Association (IAA)
• De Nederlandse Airsoft Sportbond (NABV)
• Associação Portuguesa de Milsim e Airsoft (APMA)
• Српски АирСофт Савез (CACC)
• United Kingdom Airsoft Players Union (UKAPU)

Kind Regards,

Matt Furey-King