Nigeria will have the largest share of automatic qualifiers after the Pan African Scrabble Association (PANASA) announced the recipients of Wild Card slots for the 16th Africa Scrabble Championship (ASC), scheduled to take place later this year in Monrovia, Liberia.
Seven players secured direct qualification through PANASA’s Wild Card system, with Nigeria claiming four of the coveted places, ahead of Kenya’s three.
Leading the list is reigning African Scrabble champion Oluwatimilehin Doko, who qualifies automatically as the continent’s defending champion.
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He is joined by fellow Nigerians Cyril Umebiye, a President’s Cup champion, African Under-19 champion Prestige Archibong, and African Under-15 champion Sophia Ekeruche.
Kenya’s representatives are President’s Cup winners Allan Oyende and Nicholas Mbugua, alongside Bernard Amuke, who was awarded the ECASA 2026 Wild Card slot.
PANASA President Adekoyejo Adegbesan explained that Amuke received the ECASA Wild Card as the next eligible finisher because Oyende had already secured automatic qualification through his President’s Cup triumph.
According to PANASA’s qualification guidelines, Wild Card slots are reserved for players who have won a PANASA-organised tournament, including sanctioned regional championships, since the conclusion of the previous Africa Scrabble Championship.
The association also clarified that the Wild Card allocations do not affect each country’s championship quota, with participating nations still entitled to register up to 15 home-based players and five diaspora players for the continental championship.
Although the Wild Card recipients have earned automatic qualification, PANASA stressed that all seven players must complete the official tournament registration within the stipulated registration period in line with championship regulations.
The continental governing body for Scrabble in Africa congratulated all the qualifiers and expressed confidence that the 16th Africa Scrabble Championship in Monrovia will deliver another memorable edition of the continent’s premier Scrabble tournament.