Following the provisional hosting rights granted to Nigeria a few months
ago, the Commonwealth Fencing Federation (CFF) has formally awarded the
hosting rights for the 2026 Commonwealth Fencing Championships to the
Nigeria Fencing Federation (NFF) ahead of Australia. This makes Nigeria
the first sub-Saharan nation to stage the tournament.
In a letter issued on Thursday, March 27, signed by CFF President
Marie-France Dufour and addressed to all member nations, it was resolved
by a majority decision of the Board to award the hosting rights to
Nigeria after reviewing the Technical Committee’s report. The letter
stated, “As most of you are no doubt aware, the CFF received bids from
two prospective hosts for the upcoming 2026 CFF Senior-Veteran
Championships. After some discussion, it was resolved, by a majority
decision of the Board, to provisionally award the event to the Nigerian
Fencing Federation, subject to their addressing certain shortcomings
identified in their original bid.”
The statement added, “This additional information was submitted to the
CFF Technical Committee and reviewed at their meeting on March 19, 2025.
The committee delivered its recommendations to the Board, and these were
discussed at the CFF Board meeting of March 27, 2025, after which it was
agreed, by majority decision of the Board, to formally award the 2026
CFF Senior-Veteran Championships to the Nigerian Fencing Federation. The
CFF congratulates the Nigerian Fencing Federation on being named host of
these championships and wishes them every success in this endeavour.”
An elated President of the Nigeria Fencing Federation, Adeyinka Samuel,
described the trust reposed in Nigeria as a major boost to the fortunes
of fencing in the country.
He, however, appealed for more support from both the public and private
sectors for the sport.
“We bid for the hosting rights alongside Australia, and nobody ever gave
us a chance to win. But after observing us host the Fencing World Cup in
2024, the CFF was convinced that we are ready to host any world-class
tournament. I must acknowledge that this would not have been possible
without the support of well-meaning individuals, Charter House Lagos,
and my board members. With what we have achieved in the last year, the
world is now looking towards Nigeria as a nation with the potential to
produce champions and host top-class events. We are humbled by this
honour to host the prestigious tournament, and we will start working
towards hosting a befitting tournament. We intend to use this year’s
African Senior Championships and the World Cup as tests for the
Commonwealth Championships in 2026,” he said.
