Table Tennis Records Highest Participation Ever at African Youth Games 2025
Table tennis has achieved a major milestone in Africa as the sport records the highest number of participating countries in the upcoming 2025 African Youth Games in Angola. The growing interest among young players across the continent has made this year’s edition historic and exciting for the future of the sport.
The games will run from December 10 to 20, 2025, across Luanda and other Angolan cities. The event will feature 33 sports, spread across six host cities, making it one of the biggest multi-sport gatherings for young athletes aged 14 to 17.
More than 30 African countries have already confirmed their participation, making it the largest entry the table tennis event has ever seen. This marks a big jump from previous editions, showing how quickly the sport is expanding among African youth.
In comparison, only 14 nations participated when the African Youth Games began in Morocco in 2010. The number increased to 24 countries in Botswana in 2014 and 25 in Algeria in 2018. The sharp rise in 2025 shows how the sport continues to attract more nations, including several debut countries.
The President of ITTF Africa, Wahid Oshodi, praised this development, calling it a proud moment for the sport. He explained that the 2025 turnout is even higher than the number of countries that competed in table tennis at the last African Games in Ghana. He also encouraged more support for national table tennis associations to ensure even bigger participation in the future, especially ahead of the next African Games in Egypt.
Countries already listed for the 2025 African Youth Games include Algeria, Burundi, Benin Republic, Botswana, Chad, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Angola, the host nation. This wide representation shows how table tennis is gaining strong ground across Africa.
This year’s games are also special because Angola will become the first Portuguese-speaking country to host the African Youth Games. The event will also coincide with Angola’s 50th independence anniversary, giving the tournament even deeper meaning for both the host nation and the continent.
Overall, the new participation record shows that the African Youth Games continue to create opportunities for young talents, and table tennis is becoming one of the fastest-growing sports among African youth today.
