Oman and Kenya are the latest teams to join the list of participating countries for the 2024 Men’s Junior Epee Fencing World Cup, scheduled for December 14-15 at Charterhouse Lagos.

The Asian contingent registered at the last minute for the first Fencing World Cup to be staged in Sub-Saharan Africa, aiming to improve their world ranking at the International Fencing Federation (FIE)-sanctioned tournament. Oman will be represented by Al Harith Salim, who will be accompanied by his coach.

Kenya is coming to Lagos with a 12-man team as part of their build-up to the 2025 Africa Cup, also taking place in Lagos.

The East African nation, which is rapidly gaining ground in the sport, joins the likes of Benin Republic, Togo, Egypt, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, and host Nigeria. The Saudi Arabian team, led by Hassan Abed, will have a
four-man squad.

Additionally, a strong eight-man team from Egypt, the top African fencing nation, is expected to arrive in Lagos this week to affirm their supremacy as the best-ranked team in the competition.

For America-based fencing world champion Mahmoud Elsayed of Egypt, the
tournament is crucial for his world ranking and securing his place in the Egyptian team. “The competition is crucial to both my world ranking and my position with the Egyptian national fencing team,” he said.

All is set for Charterhouse to host its first international sports tournament. The Nigeria Fencing Federation hopes to use the event to ignite a passion for fencing among young people across the country.

Adeyinka Samuel of the Nigeria Fencing Federation stated, “We are poised to host the world this week as months of preparation will be put to the test with the staging of the first World Cup in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“We hope this will ignite more interest in the sport and attract more well-meaning individuals and corporate bodies. We are excited about the quality of athletes coming to Lagos and hope our athletes compete favourably against top fencers, especially from Egypt and Hong Kong.”

British fencer Folayemi Akinyosoye has recently pledged his allegiance to Nigeria, leaving behind his representation of Great Britain.
Akinyosoye, who has been a prominent figure in British junior fencing for the past six years, made this decision as fencing gains momentum in Nigeria.
    In an acceptance letter dated August 1, 2024, and signed by British Fencing CEO Georgina Usher, Akinyosoye was exempted from the usual three-year non-compete period.

    The letter stated, “Following FIE regulations 1.4.3, this letter is from the former federation (Great Britain) accepting the transfer request and agreeing to waive the 3-year non-compete period.”
   It further confirmed, “On behalf of British Fencing, I write to confirm that British Fencing has no objection to the athlete (Folayemi Akinyosoye) changing their FIE nationality and that we waive any non-compete period.”
  The 20-year-old fencer expressed his excitement about the switch, saying, “I would like to represent Nigeria because of my personal connections to Nigeria it’s where my family roots originate, so there is desire to contribute to the development of the sport which is in its early stages stage in  Nigeria.

“I also hope that representing Nigeria might provide a unique platform to promote the Sabre Fencing and inspire other young Nigerians to take an interest in the sport.”
   He added: “I am very excited to represent Nigeria and cannot wait to work with the Nigerian fencing federation to bring my fencing to the next level.” 
Akinyosoye also shared his optimism about Nigeria’s potential to compete in the 2028 Olympic Games.
Adeyinka Samuel, President of the Nigeria Fencing Federation, welcomed Akinyosoye’s decision, highlights the positive impact on the sport’s development in Nigeria.
   “We are so excited that the work we have done in the last few years is yielding positive results with the decision by Akinyosoye to fence for Nigeria.

“This again shows that we are doing something right to improve the fortune of the sport, and we hope that we can have a strong team that will compete for places at the 2028 Olympic Games.

“We can’t wait to have him represent Nigeria in an international tournament and mix up with others already in the team,” Samuel said.