African table tennis giants Egypt, Nigeria, Tunisia, and Algeria have secured qualification for the 2026 ITTF World Team Championships in London, United Kingdom, following commanding displays in the group stages of the ongoing 2025 ITTF Africa Championships in Tunis.

The Egyptian team

In the men’s event, Egypt became the first team to book their ticket after routine victories over Togo and Côte d’Ivoire. Nigeria followed suit with dominant 3-0 wins against Cameroon and South Africa in Group B, while Morocco also progressed after beating both sides to set up a group decider with Nigeria. Algeria and hosts Tunisia completed the list of African qualifiers by topping Groups C and D, respectively.

The women’s competition mirrored the men’s results, with Egypt, Nigeria, and Algeria clinching their places in London. They will be joined by Uganda’s youthful team, whose qualification marks a breakthrough achievement for East African table tennis.

Scheduled for April 28 to May 10, 2026, the London event will mark a historic milestone — the centenary of the ITTF and the World Table Tennis Championships, both founded in the British capital in 1926.

A total of 64 teams per gender will compete in London. Of these, 52 will qualify through continental championships, 11 via world rankings (as of November 2025), while England, as host nation, receives automatic qualification.

As the countdown to London 2026 begins, the stage is set for Africa’s finest to join the world’s best in what promises to be a once-in-a-century celebration of global table tennis excellence.

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The contest for Africa’s eight available team slots at the 2026 ITTF World Team Championships intensifies today, October 17, as the continent’s best converge at the Rades Multidisciplinary Complex for the ongoing 2025 ITTF Africa Championships.

A total of 16 men’s teams and 14 women’s teams began their campaigns in the group stage, with Egypt and Nigeria leading the pack as top seeds. At stake is qualification for the global showpiece scheduled to hold in London, the historic birthplace of table tennis.

Adding to the prestige, the 2026 World Team Championships will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) — a milestone that has made this year’s African qualifiers even more competitive.

Defending champions Egypt remain the team to beat in both the men’s and women’s categories, boasting a star-studded lineup led by newly crowned continental singles champions Omar Assar and Hana Goda.

Nigeria, however, faces a major test without Africa’s top-ranked male player Quadri Aruna, whose absence has already been felt in the singles events, where no Nigerian reached the quarterfinals. The team salvaged pride with a bronze medal in the Men’s Doubles, but the focus now shifts to securing one of the coveted World Team slots.

Despite the challenges, Taiwo Mati, one of Nigeria’s key players, remains upbeat.

“We really missed our captain, but that notwithstanding, we’re ready to face any team in the competition,” he said. “We all want to go to London in 2026, and we’re hopeful of clinching one of the tickets.”

Host nation Tunisia is banking on the experience of Wassim Essid and the promise of rising star Youssef Aidli to make a strong showing on home soil. Meanwhile, Algeria, led by Mehdi Bouloussa and veteran Sami Kherouf, has expressed confidence in its chances to challenge Egypt’s dominance.

With the competition entering its decisive phase, tension and anticipation are mounting in Tunis — as Africa’s top table tennis nations battle not just for medals, but for a place on the world stage in London 2026.

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Four years after making a modest debut at the 2021 ITTF Africa Championships, Cameroon’s Ylane Batix is fast emerging as one of the brightest young stars on the continent’s table tennis scene.

When the then-15-year-old stepped out in Yaoundé, many fans doubted his unorthodox style could thrive against Africa’s top-ranked players. But Batix has since silenced the skeptics, steadily climbing the continental rankings and earning respect from peers and pundits alike.

His breakthrough came in 2025 at the ITTF Africa Cup, where he stormed into the semifinals — his best career performance — and in the process booked a historic berth at the ITTF World Cup in China, marking his first major international appearance.

Now 19, Batix carried that momentum into the 2025 ITTF Africa Championships in Tunis, where he again reached the semifinals, cementing his place among Africa’s elite. His impressive run included victories over Nigeria’s former African Games champion Olajide Omotayo and Egypt’s ex-African Youth champion Mahmoud Helmy before falling to the defending champion Omar Assar in the last four.

Reflecting on his progress, Batix said he remains grounded but ambitious.

“My dream is to become African champion, and I think I’m getting closer,” he told reporters. “It hasn’t been easy with players like Quadri Aruna, Omar Assar, and Youssef Abdelaziz still dominating. But I give myself two years — I believe I’ll be at the top.”

Having narrowly missed qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Batix is now setting his sights on Los Angeles 2028.

“Qualifying for the Olympics has always been my dream. I know it will take more hard work, and I’m ready to double my efforts,” he said. “I feel I’m maturing in the game, and the many competitions I’ve played have helped build my confidence and mental strength.”

With his growing experience on the World Table Tennis (WTT) Series circuit and his steady rise at continental events, the Cameroonian prodigy looks poised to become one of Africa’s next big names — a player inching ever closer to ruling the continent’s table tennis scene.

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