N11.5m at stake as 50 teams set for National Table Tennis Champs

No fewer than 50 teams will be participating in the 2025 National Table Tennis Championships billed to hold in Osun State.

Otan Ayegbaju, a historic town in Southwestern Nigeria, will host 50 teams from states and clubs across the country for the 5th edition of the Michael and Felicia Alabi Memorial competition.

The tournament, sponsored by the Michael and Felicia Alabi Foundation and organized by the Osun State Table Tennis Association under the auspices of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), will take place at Idera Multi-Purpose Hall in Otan Ayegbaju from April 27 to May 3, 2025.

Participating teams will come from various states including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Taraba, Nasarawa, Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Delta, Edo, Kwara, Kogi, Ekiti, Katsina, Niger, Zamfara, and the host state, Osun.

Expected clubs include Aruna Sports Club, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and Nigeria Police Force.

With over N11.5 million at stake, the one-week tournament will take place at the newly built Michael and Felicia Alabi Memorial Table Tennis Hall.

Read Also: Paralympians chase titles at 56th national Table Tennis championships

Ayodeji Alabi, chairman of the Osun State Table Tennis Association, stated that the tournament aims to complement the federation’s efforts to discover new talent and empower youth across the country.

To enhance this year’s edition, the tournament promises a blend of sports and entertainment, with several artists scheduled to perform daily.

Alabi, a member of the ITTF Africa Committee, assured that all participants would be accommodated and fed throughout the event to motivate them to perform their best.

“Whoever comes to this tournament will take home a lot of happiness because we have an entertainment lounge featuring many artists. After the games, there will be comedy shows, music performances, and well-known disc jockeys. We are creating a diverse entertainment portfolio for everyone attending,” Alabi said.

Additionally, para and deaf events will be part of this year’s edition, with athletes competing in various categories including men’s singles, women’s singles, U-15 boys’ and girls’ singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles, veteran singles, para men’s singles open, para women’s singles open, deaf men’s singles, deaf women’s singles, and local singles.

“This year, we expect about 400 to 450 participants, and we will house and feed them free of charge. This year’s tournament is different because we have created an environment where participants will sleep and eat well,” Alabi added.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now