….Karate President Agara Pledges Impactful Championship
Joel Ajayi
No fewer than 1,000 athletes have arrived in Abuja for the 2025 African Karate Championship, scheduled to hold from July 21 to July 28.
, President of the Karate Federation of Nigeria (KFN), Silas Agara stated this in Press Conference on Abuja on Sunday that 31 countries, alongside host nation Nigeria, will compete across four categories of the sport.
Agara explained that the categories include:
Cadet (ages 14–15), Junior (ages 16–17),
Senior, and Para-karate (for athletes aged 18 and above).
According to him, Today, we are happy to announce that most of the countries that indicated interest in participating in the African Championship are already on ground,” Agara stated.
“We also have international officials present to provide technical support throughout the event. As a federation, we have been working tirelessly over the past week to ensure all logistics are in place, including accommodation for the visiting countries.”
He noted that as of Wednesday night—the official deadline for registration—31 countries had confirmed participation, with over 1,000 athletes and officials expected in total.
“Coordinating logistics for these athletes and officials has been quite demanding, especially regarding accommodation, transportation, and immigration matters, such as visa-on-arrival processing. However, I’m happy to say that we are on course,” he added.
Agara further disclosed that the General Assembly of the African Karate Federation will also take place in Abuja during the championship.
In his remarks, Dave Jegede, Technical Director of the KFN, said Nigeria would present 60 athletes for the championship, all of whom are in high spirits ahead of the competition.
“In anticipation of this event, we have been preparing extensively. As the host nation, we organized several national and regional championships to keep our athletes sharp and competition-ready,” Jegede said.
“We’ve held four national and two regional tournaments leading up to this championship. Our 60-athlete team includes African and Commonwealth medalists—gold, silver, and bronze winners—so we are confident in their ability to make Nigeria proud,” he added.
