As the Lagos state is preparing to host the 2022 World Championship regional qualification, African Club Championship and African Cup, the chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission, Sola Aiyepekun said the state would have successful hosting but also raise the standard of the competitions.
The three major tourneys would start from May 19 to 28 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium. The World Championships regional qualification for West African teams begins on May 19 to 21, while the African Club Championships follow on May 23 to 25 as the African Cup which is a singles tournament will climax the event on May 26 to 28.
Aiyepekun who is also a member of the ATTF-appointed Main Organising Committee (MOC) believes the state would continue to impress the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) by raising the standard of its competition annually.
“We have staged several international tournaments in the past and this has encouraged the ITTF and ATTF to see the state as the qualified city for this year’s tournament. For nine days, we will have the best players across Africa in Lagos to compete as well as enjoy the hospitality of the good people of Lagos,” he said.
Aiyepeku disclosed that Lagos has become the home of table tennis in Africa, boasting that the state would make the journey memorable.
“Apart from the organization which is always top-notch, In Lagos, we have many people who are passionate about the game which make the state a Table Tennis playing state. Secondly, we have the personnel as well as the infrastructure to host the event and we hope that we can continue to raise the bar in Africa, we believe that all our visitors will enjoy the tourism potential of the state even as they are coming to compete in tournaments,” he added.
Meanwhile, For the African Cup, each participating country will nominate two players each in men’s and women’s events, while the host country will nominate four players each for the tournament.
The nine-man MOC will be chaired by ITTF Vice President, Wahid Oshodi and he will be assisted by the President of Cote d’Ivoire Table Tennis Federation, Prof. Alfred Germain Karou.
