The centenary final of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships will be doubly historic for the teams appearing on the ultimate stage for the first time.
Among the 64 men’s and 64 women’s teams traveling to London in 2026, six have never appeared at a World Team Championship in the 100 years since the first was held in the same city in 1926.
A total of 80 countries will be represented in London – there are 48 in both the men’s and women’s competitions, 16 in the men’s only and 16 in the women’s only.
Two men’s and four women’s teams will experience the thrill of competing at this level for the first time: three from Africa and three from Oceania.
The six teams making their debut are:
Women from the Cook Islands
Qualification path: Oceanic Championships
This will be the first time Cook Islanders have appeared at a World Championship, having secured a qualifying spot at the Oceania Championships last year.
The team is ranked 48th in the world and represents a country made up of 15 islands with a population of just 15,000 people.
They finished fourth behind Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti, beating Nauru 3-1 thanks to two singles wins from Casonya Bates, who also won the doubles alongside Jodie Gollop. Bates is currently their highest ranked player at No. 232.
They will make one of the longest journeys to London. The capital of the Cook Islands, Avarua, is just over 10,000 miles from London and although Wellington in New Zealand is some 11,700 miles away, the need to make connecting flights means the journey can take more than 30 hours.
Fiji does
Qualification path: World rankings
Fiji, a country made up of more than 330 islands and just under a million inhabitants, will be represented by a men’s team at a World Cup for the first time.
However, this will not be the first time that England will compete for the country ranked number 52 in the world. They were on the field at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, when they played against English men in the group stage.
The Fiji team that day included a remarkable character: 62-year-old Stephen Reilly, a British-born former shark diver. He competed alongside Vicky Wu, who made history in 2024 as the first Fijian man to compete in an Olympic Games – where he was defeated by Liam Pitchford in the first round. Their highest ranked player is currently Joshua Yee, at number 281 in the world.
Fijian women competed at the World Championships in 2016, but this is a first for the men, although they were represented in the individual events by Anthony Ho in 1991.
Ivory Coast/Ivory Coast men
Qualification path: World rankings
The West African country of just over 30 million, which is ranked 49th, has never previously qualified a men’s or women’s team, although they are represented at the individual World Cups.
Kanate Ali, OBA Kizito OB and Yann Emmanuel kouadjo all competed in the men’s singles in Düsseldorf 2017 and Budapest 2019, with Koudejo & ao in the doudes in 2019
Oba is still active and is currently the country’s best player in the world rankings at number 198.
Angolan women
Qualification path: World rankings
Angola’s men have played against teams three times before and will compete again this year after a 12-year absence, but it is uncharted territory for their female compatriots, whose world ranking is 52.
Angola women played in the individual championships in 2009 and again last year, when Ruth Tavares and Isabel Albino competed in the women’s doubles. Albino is currently their highest ranked individual at number 342.
The Angolan teams represent a country of more than 36 million inhabitants, the second largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world after Brazil.
Women from the Democratic Republic of Congo
Qualification path: World rankings
DR Congo’s men took part in the World Championships in 2006, 2010 and 2012, but this will be the first time for the women – although they also took part in 2010 and 2014 and withdrew before the competition started. Their only appearance in the individual competitions was in 2009.
Their highest ranked player is currently number 208, Ammadine Litobaka.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the second largest African country by area and the eleventh largest in the world. The population is approximately 114 million.
Nauru women
Qualification path: World rankings
No Nauru athletes have ever appeared at the World Championships, but their women will be there thanks to a world ranking of 53.
They competed at the 2025 Oceania Championships and finished fifth, where they were represented by Nancy Dagagio, Bryana Dagagio and Uzzaniah Grace Notte – the latter currently ranked 310 in the world.
With an area of 21 square kilometers, Nauru is the third smallest country in the world, after Vatican City and Monaco. It has approximately 12,000 inhabitants.
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