By Samuel Ahmadu

The Nigeria Fencing Federation (NFF) has officially been awarded the rights to host the 2026 Commonwealth Fencing Championships, making Nigeria the first sub-Saharan nation to stage the prestigious tournament.

In a letter issued on Thursday, March 27, the Commonwealth Fencing Federation (CFF) confirmed that following a review of the Technical Committee’s report, the NFF was granted the hosting rights over competing bid from Australia. The decision was made by a majority vote of the CFF Board.

The letter outlined that the provisional hosting rights, initially granted a few months ago, were contingent on Nigeria addressing certain deficiencies in their original bid. These issues were resolved after the Nigerian Federation submitted additional information, which was subsequently reviewed at the CFF Technical Committee meeting on March 19, 2025.

The CFF’s President, Marie-France Dufour, conveyed the decision in the letter, stating: “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. 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.”

Nigeria’s victory in securing the hosting rights is seen as a major milestone for the development of fencing in the country. Adeyinka Samuel, President of the NFF, expressed his delight at the award, citing the Federation's successful organization of the 2024 Fencing World Cup as a key factor in convincing the CFF of Nigeria's ability to host world-class events.

“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,” Samuel said.

Samuel also emphasized the importance of continued support for fencing in Nigeria from both the public and private sectors. He said the Federation is already preparing for the 2026 tournament, with plans to use the upcoming African Senior Championships and World Cup as preparatory events.

“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 added.