Abuja Hosts 1,000 Athletes For African Karate Championship

The 2025 African Karate Championship is set to kick off in Abuja, with over 1,000 athletes from 31 countries arriving in the city to compete in the highly anticipated event.

The championship, which runs from July 21 to July 28, will feature four categories of the sport: cadet, junior, senior, and para karate.

According to Silas Agara, President of the Karate Federation of Nigeria, the participating countries have arrived in Abuja, and officials from other nations are on hand to provide technical assistance.

Agara disclosed that the federation has been working tirelessly to ensure that all logistics are in place, including accommodation and transportation for the athletes and officials.

“We have been on the ground for the past week trying to ensure that all the logistics are in place and accommodation has been sorted for countries that are coming,” Agara said. “As at Wednesday night, which was the closing date for the registration, we have 31 countries that have indicated interest to come, with over 1,000 athletes from all these countries that will be coming along, including officials.”

The KFN president also announced that the General Assembly of the African championship would take place in Abuja during the event.

Meanwhile, Technical Director of the Federation, Dave Jegede, expressed confidence in Nigeria’s team, saying they are well-prepared and in high spirits ahead of the competition.

“Anticipatory, we have been preparing,” Jegede said. “We know that we are hosting and as such have lined up several championships before now to keep our athletes in tune. We have about 60 athletes that will participate in this championship and many of them are African champions. We have gold medalists, silver medalists, and bronze medalists in our team. We also have Commonwealth medalists in our team. So all these put together, and with the preparation we have had, we’re sure we’ll make Nigeria proud.”

The championship promises to be an exciting event, with athletes from across Africa vying for top honors in their respective categories.

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