The 2026 ITTF Africa Youth Season officially launched on Tuesday at the Dome, University of Ghana, Legon, setting the stage for two weeks of elite junior table tennis in the capital.The season runs from July 13 to July 29, 2026 and features two major events.
The ITTF Africa Hopes Challenge for players under 12 kicked off first at Legon from July 13-18, while the Africa Youth Championships and Africa Cup will take place from July 20-29 at the Borteyman Sports Complex in Accra.
The Hopes Challenge is hosting 36 young athletes from 12 countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Tunisia, Togo, Zimbabwe, Benin, Botswana, and host nation Ghana. As hosts, Ghana has an expanded team of six boys and six girls, compared to the usual quota of one boy and one girl per country.
From next week, attention shifts to Borteyman where the Africa Youth Championships and Africa Cup are expected to welcome 300 athletes from 22 countries across the continent.
Speaking at the launch, Mawuko Afadzinu, President of the Ghana Table Tennis Association, described hosting the event as a major milestone for the sport in Ghana.
“It’s a huge opportunity for Ghana to be hosting it. It’s an opportunity in so many ways,” Afadzinu said.
“Beyond giving the next generation of athletes a platform to be discovered, it also gives our own players exposure and the chance to learn from the best. Having Madam Eva Jeler here, who is one of the best in the world, is a big one for us.”
He added that the tournament provides young Ghanaians “reason to believe and a pathway to progress, to be successful in a lot of things.”
ITTF Africa Hopes Program Manager Eva Jeler praised the talent on display and the growing coaching base across Africa.
“Africa is full of talents. We know this in table tennis and wherever we go we discover players who could become world leading players,” Jeler said.
“What is very important is that the level and number of coaches involved in Africa table tennis is getting better and greater each time. Investing in young players is simply assuring a good future for African players, for the associations, and for everybody. Kids in sports are kids in a safe place. Table tennis teaches not only sport and movement, it also teaches social skills and mental skills.”
ITTF Sports Development Director Mikael Andersson said the program is part of the ITTF’s global talent development drive that reaches 100 countries.
“This is more a training event than anything else, although we have players competing,” Andersson explained.
“We evaluate the players from a technical point of view and also watch them in competition to see their skills. To be in Ghana, in the center of Africa, in the heart of Africa, to provide this opportunity for all the coaches and young players in Africa is very important.”
Also present at the launch were David Ahiaba Senyo, Hopes Challenge Coordinator, and Charles Tachie-Menson Jnr., GTTA Technical Director.
With the Hopes Challenge already underway at Legon and the continent’s top youth players set to arrive at Borteyman next week, Ghana is positioned to showcase both its organizational capacity and its young table tennis talent to the rest of Africa.
