Nigeria will not participate in the 2026 African Table Tennis Championships after financial constraints prevented the country from attending the qualifying tournament in Conakry, Guinea.
The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation confirmed the development in a statement sent to Bold Sports on Thursday.
Nigeria was scheduled to field Matthew Kuti, Abdulbasit Abdulfatai, Favour Ojo and Khadijat Okanlawon at the ITTF Africa West Regional Championships, which began in Conakry on July 15.
However, the federation withdrew the team after it failed to secure the money required for the trip.
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The regional tournament served as the qualifying event for the African Championships, scheduled to take place later this year in Morocco. Nigeria’s absence from Conakry means the country will miss the continental competition for the first time in recent history.
NTTF president Adesoji Tayo said the federation had prepared its players for competitions in Ghana and Guinea but could not finance every trip.
“In the last two weeks, our young players have been in camp preparing for the three events in Ghana and Guinea,” Tayo said.
“With support from friends of table tennis and the management of Babcock University, we provided a conducive environment for training and ensured that the cadet players heading to Ghana departed last weekend.
“Unfortunately, our request for NSC’s support for the Guinea trip was unsuccessful, and the prohibitive flight ticket prices forced us to withdraw. This competition also served as qualifiers for the 2026 African Championships in Morocco.”
The federation said the withdrawal could also affect Nigeria’s qualification prospects for the 2027 World Table Tennis Championships.
Tayo added that missing the African Championships would damage Nigeria’s standing as one of the continent’s leading table-tennis nations.
Despite the funding difficulties, the NTTF sent Umar Ayoola, Habeeb Adebayo, Emmanuella Shaibu and Elizabeth Emenike to Accra for the 2026 Africa Hopes Week and Challenge.
The federation’s statement also said a 16-member team led by Kuti and Ojo was expected to travel to Ghana for the 2026 African Youth Championships and Cup.
The NSC’s response to the federation’s claim that its request for support was unsuccessful was not included in the statement.
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