The long-drawn crisis that continues rocking Kickboxing Federation of Nigeria (KBFN) has apparently left top shots in the sport’s global governing body worried, as they fear the ongoing stalemate could make the country miss a spot at next year’s Africa Games in Egypt.
Sports247 gathered that qualifiers will soon begin for the presence of kickboxing as a medal-winning discipline at the continent’s next multi-spotts gathering, but Nigeria remains suspended internationally from the sport, due to lingering disagreement among its officials regarding elections.
However, in an apparent move to deescalate issues, the president of World Association of Kickboxing Organisations (WAKO), Roy Baker is said to have initiated informal efforts to get peace back into the Nigerian section of the martial arts discipline by reaching out privately to some officials.
Although nothing has been formally revealed regarding Baker’s move to broker peace, it has been gathered further that the WAKO president’s efforts through a message sent in the form of a personal enquiry to one of the officials could be the beginning of positive steps towards lasting peace.
This can be deduced from a short message seen by Sports247 late Wednesday, in which Baker reportedly raised concern about crises currently rocking the Nigerian body, then gave suggestions on possible ways out of the woods, in time for the upcoming Egypt 2027 qualifiers.
“Do we have any update in relation to the status of Kickboxing Nigeria? As you know, we have the upcoming Africa Cup, which is the eliminator for the Africa Games in 2027, where Kickboxing is a full medal sport. Unless we get this issue dealt with for Nigeria, they’re not gonna be able to participate, which is not what we all want.
“So, how do we move this forward? How do you move this (and) what support can we give to Nigeria (to get this settled? Can we get a) General Assembly called and have stability brought back to Kickboxing in Nigeria?” Baker inquired in a message sent to a key official of the federation.
Meanwhile, Sports247 gathered that a faction within Kickboxing Federation of Nigeria is touting a retired military officer, Framah Eli Batnah as ‘incoming president,’ citing his retirement as an air vice marshall in 2025, before which he was Nigeria Air Force (NAF) director of sports, former director of sports at Defence Headquarters and former board member of Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF).
However, Sports247 recalls that similar unsuccessful peace moves had been launched in the recent past by officials of National Sports Commission (NSC), meaning it’s left to be seen how this latest intervention from the global body would eventually put an end to the stalemate.
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