Alfred Bagueka, President of the Cameroon Table Tennis Federation and Deputy President of the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), has emphasized the importance of youth development in Africa’s quest to rise in global table tennis rankings.
Speaking to Sports247 ahead of the 2025 ITTF Africa Youth Championship in Lagos, Bagueka outlined the vision driving the continent’s table tennis development initiatives.
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“We know that in the current global top 20 male rankings, Africa has only two representatives, Quadri Aruna of Nigeria and Omar Assar of Egypt,” Bagueka said. “We need more players at that level, and even in the top 10.
” To achieve that, we must first develop strong cadet and junior players.”
The Lagos-hosted championship, he noted, is a major step toward that goal. The Under-14 and Under-19 team and singles winners from the tournament will qualify to represent Africa at the World Youth Championship.
“This competition is very important because we cannot focus only on senior events if we don’t build a strong foundation in the youth categories,” he stated. “That’s why we’re excited that Nigeria has taken the initiative to host this event.”
The 2025 edition has already made history with participation from nearly 20 countries, a record for the championship and a milestone Bagueka believes signals a growing commitment to youth development across the continent.
In addition to the youth championship, which will serve off on Sunday 27 July 2025 at the Mobolaji Okoya Hall, Lagos will host the inaugural Africa Youth Cup on August 4th and 5th. Alfred Bagueka credited ATTF President Wahid Oshodi for introducing the additional competition, which he said reflects a new, more ambitious approach to nurturing Africa’s future table tennis stars.
“Thanks to President Oshodi, Africa now has more than one major youth event annually. This gives our young players more opportunities for international exposure — and that’s very, very good for them,” he added.
The 2025 ITTF Africa Youth Championship continues through early August at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.
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