Preview: Africa’s best gather in Abidjan for the 2025 continental championships
The 2025 African Archery Championships take place next week in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire – the first time the Francophone coastal city has hosted a major international archery competition.
Usually held biannually, the last championships took place in Nabeul, Tunisia in 2023, where much of the attention centred on the qualification spots available for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The results saw archers from Chad, Egypt, South African and Tunisia earn quota places for their nations in Paris.
With no senior Olympic qualification available this time, the Abidjan edition is a slimmer tournament than last time out – though it does include a recurve under-18 category, offering valuable preparation for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
The event also features barebow competition for men and women, as well as an open para category. It will be the first time the African Championships include a women’s barebow event.
Competition and finals will be held at the Stade Robert Champroux de Marcory in the heart of the city, home to two top Ivorian football clubs.
Key information
What’s happening? The 14th edition of the African Archery Championships, held in Abidjan, the major urban centre of Côte d’Ivoire and the sixth-largest city in Africa by population.
What’s at stake? The title of African Champion across 10 events.
Who’s competing? 127 archers from 19 countries.
What’s the story? The African Championships are usually a vital qualification event in the years leading to the Olympic Games. While no senior quota places are available in 2025, the tournament is a key stepping stone toward the next Youth Olympic Games, also held in Africa next year.
Event schedule
- Thursday 20 November: Qualifying and individual eliminations
- Friday 21 November: Individual eliminations
- Saturday 22 November: Team finals
- Sunday 23 November: Individual and team finals
How to watch
Watch live footage of the finals on Sunday 23 November with a subscription to archery+.
Live scores will be available on the World Archery website and there will be coverage across World Archery’s digital platforms throughout the competition.
Who’s competing?
Full entries are available online.
These are the top-ranked archers competing in Abidjan:
- Recurve men: Israel Madaye, Chad (world rank: 312)
- Recurve women: Fatoumata Sylla, Guinea (world rank: 258)
- Compound men: Henri How Kemg Fat, Mauritius (world rank: 248)
- Compound women: Iona Bartosz, Zimbabwe (world rank: 257)
These are the reigning African Champions from Nabeul 2023.
- Recurve men: Youssof Tolba, Egypt (not competing)
- Recurve women: Jana Ali, Egypt (not competing)
- Compound men: Henri How Kemg Fat, Mauritius
- Compound women: Jacqueline Coetzee, Namibia (not competing)
- Barebow men: Lutz Wahlers, Namibia (not competing)
A total of 127 archers (72 men, 55 women) from the national teams of the following 19 countries are registered to compete at these championships: Algeria, Benin, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Comoros, Egypt, Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Competition at the African Archery Championships starts on Thursday.
