Over 1,000 Athletes Storm Abuja For 2025 African Karate Championship

At least 1,000 athletes from 31 countries have arrived in Abuja for the highly anticipated 2025 African Karate Championship, scheduled to run from July 21 to July 28.

President of the Karate Federation of Nigeria, Silas Agara, confirmed the development during a press briefing on Sunday. He revealed that participants from 31 African nations, alongside host country Nigeria, will compete across four main categories in the championship.

According to Agara, the competition will feature cadet athletes aged 14–15, juniors aged 16–17, seniors aged 18 and above, and a para-karate category for athletes with disabilities.

The event promises a showcase of skill, strength, and discipline as Abuja becomes the epicenter of continental martial arts action for one week.

He said, “Today, we are happy to announce that we have most of the countries that have indicated to participate in the upcoming African Championship; they are on ground.

“We have officials from other countries that are here to provide technical assistance to the championship here on ground.

“Our part as a federation, we have been on ground for the past one week trying to ensure that all the logistics are in place and accommodation has been sorted for countries that are coming.

“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.

“Logistics for these athletes and officials have not been too easy in terms of sorting out their accommodation, their transport from the hotel, immigration processes, that is sorting their visa on arrival, so these are some of the logistics. But I am happy that we are on course.”

President of the Karate Federation of Nigeria (KFN), Silas Agara, has announced that the General Assembly of the African Karate Championship will also take place in Abuja during the tournament, adding another layer of significance to the week-long event.

Meanwhile, the Federation’s Technical Director, Dave Jegede, revealed that Nigeria will field a contingent of 60 athletes for the championship. He expressed optimism, stating that the athletes are well-prepared and brimming with confidence ahead of the continental faceoff.

“Anticipatory, we have been preparing. 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 four national and two regional championships which we have done. So these athletes have been attending competitions regularly. They’ve been in camp before now, and they’re in high spirits.

“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,” Jegede said.