Egypt and Tunisia, two African fencing powerhouses, have arrived in Nigeria for the 23rd African Fencing Championships, holding at Charterhouse Lagos from June 25 – 29.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the five-day, 12-event tournament will feature top fencers from across Africa, competing for 12 gold medals in individual and team events.
Egypt, the most decorated African nation in fencing, has arrived with the largest squad.
The team is led by the El-Sayed brothers—Olympic bronze medallist Mohamed El-Sayed and world junior champion Mahmoud El-Sayed.
Mohamed, 22, won bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics and gold at the 2022 Mediterranean Games.
His younger brother Mahmoud recently won gold at the 2025 Junior World Championships in Wuxi, China, and is currently the world No. 1 junior.
The Egyptian squad, which arrived in Lagos aboard an EgyptAir flight from Cairo, is keen to retain the overall title won in 2024.
Tunisia has also arrived with a strong team led by Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist, Farès Ferjani.
Ferjani, 27, is the reigning men’s sabre champion and will captain Tunisia’s sabre team.
Other countries expected on Tuesday include Mauritius, Angola, Rwanda, South Africa, Guinea, Morocco, Libya, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Senegal.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Fencing Federation has thanked corporate sponsors and individuals for their strong support, especially Charterhouse, which hosted the 2024 World Cup.
Federation President Adeyinka Samuel praised the backing from government and private sectors in helping put Nigeria on the global fencing map.
“Charterhouse has been a committed partner since 2024, and their support is greatly valued. We hope others will follow their example,” Samuel said. (NAN)
