Events across Africa helping unearth future stars of the sport
It has been an exciting past few weeks for African teqball, with a series of events across the continent helping unearth new stars of the sport. The following are just a few highlights of what has been yet another busy month for FITEQ in Africa.
The latest Ivory Coast Challenger Cup was held from 6 - 7 August, organised by the Ivory Coast Teqball Federation in association with Minister of Sports Paulin Claude Danoh. The staging of the tournament was also supported by the Minister of Animal and Fisheries Resources Sidi Tiemoko Toure. National champions were crowned in men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles after some incredible performances.
On 7 July, the Challenge Laginha event took place in Laginha, Island of São Vicente, Cape Verde, with singles, doubles and mixed doubles on display. An additional teqball tournament also took place in the island of Santiago, on 21 August in Largo Kebra Kanela, again with singles, doubles and mixed doubles taking place on the coast.
Burundi also hosted a major event, with 64 male and female players competing in the Kirundo Province to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Burundi’s independence. The general secretary, national technical director, women’s representative, treasurer, athletes representative and more from the national federation were all in attendance for this special historic event on 30-31 July.
In Eswatini, the Eswatini Challenger Cup took place from 30-31 July at the Olympafrica Sports Centre in Lobamba. Competition took place in women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles.
Elsewhere, from 30 - 31 July, the Gambia Teqball Federation hosted a National Teqball Championship at Charles Jaw school ground. The event was a resounding success, with the National Sports Committee and Lamin Kaba Bajo, the President of the Gambia Football Federation, both in attendance to witness the great strides being made in teqball.
Recent developments in Africa have also included important non-competition news, with a new woman-led teqball club being established in Zimbabwe. Mr Lawrence Kamukapa, the CEO of the Zimbabwe Teqball Federation, worked alongside the Harare Sports Club to establish the Banji Teqball Club. This historic development sees the establishment of the country’s first teqball club led by a woman, marking a significant step towards FITEQ’s goal of gender equality.
