The Fencing Men’s World Cup, scheduled for 14-15 December 2024, will take place in Lagos, Nigeria, with top fencing nations from around the world set to participate.
The Charterhouse Lagos, one of Nigeria’s top international schools, will host the event, which will have the likes of the United States, Hong Kong, and Egypt in attendance.
Meanwhile, the organisers revealed that Ghana, Senegal, Greece, Angola, Togo, and the Benin Republic will join host Nigeria as confirmed countries for the two-day championship.
Teenagers Shemilore Fashola and Wisdom Okanlawon are the two fencers that will be representing Nigeria in the tournament, which provides an opportunity for their arrival on the global stage.
Nigeria will be making history as the first sub-Saharan country to host the Fencing World Cup, and Adeyinka Samuel, president of the Nigerian Fencing Federation (NFF), expressed his delight at the opportunity the competition affords the country towards achieving its goal of becoming a fencing powerhouse.
Samuel said: “We are excited about the opportunity given to Nigeria to stage this important event. We are grateful to the management of Charterhouse Lagos for agreeing to host the tournament. This is a rare opportunity for any country in Africa, and we are thrilled to become the first Sub-Saharan African country to host the World Cup.
“Having successfully hosted the African championships in 2018 and 2020, we have been eager to host the World Cup. Our bid was unanimously supported, and this event will provide our fencers with the chance to experience top-class competition at home”
The director of Education at Charterhouse Lagos, John Todd also expressed the school’s enthusiasm in hosting such a grand event. The fencing world cup is one to look out for as it’ll provide local Fencers the opportunity to earn points for the upcoming championships and compete against diverse world class Fencers and hone their skills.
Meanwhile, Charterhouse Lagos Director of Education, John Todd, says the school is ready to play host to the several nations competing in the tournament.
“We are excited that Nigeria is hosting such an event. At Charterhouse Lagos, fencing has been part of the UK’s independent youth program,” he said. “Partnering with the Nigeria Fencing Federation is a long-term collaboration that we believe will help grow the sport.
“We are also supporting their quest to stage the Commonwealth Championships, as we have the facilities to support them. We believe more young Nigerians will embrace the sport, and we are committed to supporting Nigeria in improving the state of fencing.”
The upcoming Fencing World Cup will also provide an avenue for emerging players to earn points ahead of the qualifiers for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games in the United States.
