The continental activity of the ITTF identification program of the flagship Talent -identification brings promising U12 players from all over Africa together as part of a path that continues to expand over the continent.
Joseph Sebatindira of Uganda, the 10-year-old, whose participation in addition to teammate Patience Omwero Anyango is particularly remarkable among the group, demonstrates the success of the program in identifying the top level talent. Players such as Sebatindira represent the caliber of young athletes that Continental Hopes programs are designed to discover and develop throughout Africa.
A week of talent and learning
With 14 girls and 17 boys who participate, the Lagos meeting creates an intensive environment for both talent identification and development of skills. The Eva Jeler of Germany leads the technical program as ITTF head coach, who works together with Tunesia’s Ramzi Mabrouk, ITTF Development Programs Manager.
The coaching delegation tells his own story about development success, with Audrey from Kenya Oronda” To consider Tanhara from Zimbabwe, Nancy Nestor from Congo Democratic, and Tunisies Great Ounais – bothall Participants in the project “My gender. My strength”. Their presence demonstrate How development programs create interconnected paths for both coaches and players.
As ITTF President Petra Sörling Emphasized: “By strengthening the foundations at the level of the base through the hope program, we build the future of table tennis one player at the same time.”
A continent on the move
The Lagos activity is within a remarkable year of activity throughout Africa. During 2024, the continent organized 51 different development activities of 37 countries and areas – from national development projects in Zambia and Mali to coaching educational programs in Egypt and Morocco. This is a significant increase in development opportunities compared to previous years.
The figures speak about the transformative impact of ITTF: 57.2% male and 42.8% female participation in all activities, with 13 MA activities and 26 national projects delivered. The online services of ITTF proved particularly popular, with 170 hours that were consumed by African associations that wanted to strengthen their development opportunities.
Development work extends much further than the identification of talent. Para -table tennis has received a momentum with five special training camps in 2024, to support 92 athletes and 28 coaches on several continents. The “My gender. My strength” project attracted applications of 50 member associations – a jump of 40% compared to the previous year – with 20 female coaches who eventually participated.
Perhaps the most important thing is that the coaching course of level 3 came back to Africa for the first time in eight years, held in Tunisia with 17 participants of nine member associations. This is an important milestone for building coaching expertise on the entire continent.
Development of technical expertise has also been drunk. Workshops for competition management in Addis Ababa trained candidates from eight member associations, with 18 people from nine countries who then earn the status of the “regional competitive manager” through online exams. Match Offication has also demonstrated a clear improvement, with international referee -gret rates of 58% in 2024.
Look forward
While Africa is preparing for the Dakar 2026 Olympic Youth Games, special projects with Olympic solidarity offer extra opportunities for selected players and coaches through improved training programs and international exposure.
The strategic four-yearly agreement signed between ITTF and ITTF Africa in December 2024 formalizes the partnership for 2025-2028. “The objectives set out in the SQA are fully in line with the vision and direction of the new council of ITTF Africa under my leadership,” said ITTF Africa President Wahid Oshodi.
For the young players who train in Lagos this week, the path goes beyond Africa. The most promising talents will continue to the World Hopes Week & Challenge in Sheffield later this year, where they train alongside colleagues from all over the world.
The Lagos meeting represents much more than talent identification -it is proof of a continent where the development of table tennis really wins a momentum, supported by expanding programs that reach grassroots activities to elite coaching -Ducation.
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