▪️ The President of Zambia Boxing Federation Boniface Sokoni is keen to have Africa’s premier boxing tournament take place in the Southern African country for the second time
Zambia Boxing Federation President Boniface Sokoni has said they will bid to host 2026 African Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships in the capital city Lusaka.
Inspired by Zambia’s impressive performance in the just-concluded IBA Men’s World Championships in Dubai, Sokoni told boxersworld.co.ke he is confident the government will back the federation in this worthy venture.
Zambia was the top-placed African country at the IBA World Championships in Dubai with two bronze medals won by their boxing posterboy flyweight Patrick “Baddo” Chinyemba and African Games light-welterweight silver medallist Emmanuel Katema.
Chinyemba, the African Games champion and a quarter-finalist at the Paris Olympics, lost in the semi-finals to Russia’s Bair Batlaev and Katema went down to Kyrgyzstan’s Omar Livaza.
“Our success in Dubai proved Zambia is a strong boxing nation in Africa, and therefore deserve to host the Africa Championships in Lusaka,” said a confident Sokoni.
“I’ll soon meet our Sports Minister to discuss the issue and then we get down to serious business of working on the bid document, we have good infrastructure, modern hotels and Zambians passionately love boxing.”
International Boxing Association (IBA) will support the 2026 Africa Championships with total prize money of $1 million for gold, silver and bronze medallists.
Zambia successfully hosted the 1968 Africa Championships in Lusaka.
Egypt emerged winners in the highly competitive tournament by the skin of their teeth with Kenya breathing behind their neck in second position and Uganda finishing third. It was the fourth edition of the continental championships.
The Egyptians, winners of the inaugural Africa Championships which they hosted in 1962 and the second one in Ghana in 1964, finished with 13 points tying with Kenya on the same number of points but regained the overall title by virtue of having one more gold than Kenya. Egypt took home the Nasser Trophy and Nkrumah Shield.
Egypt won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals followed by Kenya 2-1-5, Uganda 2-2-2 12 pts, Ghana 0-4-0 8 pts, Nigeria 0-2-3 7 pts, Niger 2-0-0 6 pts, Zambia 0-1-3 6 pts.
A total of 17 countries took part in the Africa Championships in Lusaka namely Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Congo Kinshasa now DRC, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Dahomey, Malagasy, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, Sudan and hosts Zambia.
