Nigeria Eyes World Youth Qualification at ITTF Africa Youth Championships

Posted : 20 July 2026

Nigeria will begin its campaign at the 2026 ITTF Africa Youth Championships in Accra, Ghana, with the country's rising table tennis stars aiming to secure qualification for the World Youth Championships in Turkey later this year.

The 10-day tournament, which began on Monday at the Borteyman Sports Complex, has brought together 163 players, comprising 94 boys and 69 girls from 23 African countries. Competitors will battle for honours in the U-19 and U-15 categories across team, singles and doubles events.

Nigeria enters the competition as one of the top-seeded teams in the boys' divisions and is expected to challenge strongly for medals. The country will also be targeting qualification places for the World Youth Championships, with the team events offering automatic qualification to the finalists.

The Nigerian challenge will be led by Matthew Kuti and Favour Ojo, who are expected to play key roles in both the team and individual competitions. Their experience and consistency have made them central figures in Nigeria's quest to maintain its reputation as one of Africa's leading table tennis nations.

The team competition represents the first major test of the championship, with several traditional powerhouses also expected to contend for qualification. Nigeria will face strong opposition from defending giants Egypt, as well as Algeria, Tunisia, Uganda and hosts Ghana.

Host nation Ghana will look to home favourites Israel Aklie and Joanita Borteye to inspire a memorable campaign. Aklie is the 2024 Africa Hopes champion and Ghana's reigning Table Tennis Player of the Year, while Borteye enters the tournament as the country's national champion.

Egypt has once again arrived with a formidable squad led by Sameh Asser, the reigning U-15 boys' doubles champion, and Habiba Elbasoumy, who finished runner-up in the U-19 girls' singles at last year's championships. Both players are expected to play leading roles in Egypt's pursuit of more continental titles.

Algeria will rely on Jade and Tania Morice, while Tunisia's hopes rest largely on national champion Wassim Essid as they seek to challenge for medals across multiple events.

Beyond the race for World Youth Championships qualification, players will compete for continental titles, medals and prize money in the singles and doubles events. The championship is also expected to provide another opportunity for Africa's brightest young talents to showcase their potential on the international stage.

Nigeria Eyes World Youth Qualification at ITTF Africa Youth Championships

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