As Dakar marks exactly one year until it becomes the first African city to host the Youth Olympic Games, the ITTF’s extensive advancement work across africa continues to support the sport’s growth ahead of this landmark moment. The event will also mark another historic first: the first Youth Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Kirsty Coventry, herself the first African to lead the International Olympic Committee.
The countdown to Dakar 2026 comes at a time of unprecedented growth in African table tennis development. Throughout 2024, the continent hosted 51 different development activities spanning 37 Member Associations, with gender-balanced participation showing 57.2% male and 42.8% female involvement across all programmes. This momentum has continued into 2025, with close to 30 activities already delivered across 21 Member Associations, demonstrating ITTF’s sustained commitment to growth within the region.
“The Youth Olympic Games is not just a competition – they’re about shaping the next generation of athletes and creating opportunities that will resonate throughout Africa long after the closing ceremony,” said petra Sörling, ITTF President and IOC Member. “our work across the continent through our development programmes and capacity-building initiatives is ensuring that this historic moment in Dakar will leave a lasting legacy for young athletes and the broader table tennis community.”
Senegal’s Intensive Preparation
For Senegal, hosting the Youth Olympic Games represents a meaningful milestone. the Senegalese Table Tennis Association has been engaged with the ITTF Participation Program over the past three years, delivering consistent national activities and grassroots development that have built the foundation for this historic moment.
# ITTF Development camp in Senegal fuels African Table Tennis Growth
From September 23rd to 29th, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) hosted a triumphant training camp in Dakar, Senegal, bringing together 28 young players – 14 boys and 14 girls – from 11 african nations.The camp aimed to elevate the skills of emerging talents and prepare them for future international competitions, including the Youth Olympic Games.
The intensive training program was led by ITTF Development Coach, Christian Preiss, alongside local Senegalese coaches. Players benefited from focused technical drills, tactical sessions, and physical conditioning, all designed to enhance their performance and competitive edge. The camp also incorporated educational workshops covering topics such as athlete life skills and the rules of table tennis.
This initiative was made possible through the support of the Olympic Solidarity and leveraged the expertise of ITTF’s development network, providing world-class training support.
Looking ahead to 2026,ITTF will deliver a specialised training chance for selected African players,supported by Olympic Solidarity,as part of targeted Youth Olympic Games preparation. This initiative will provide identified talent with additional high-performance support as the Games approach.
ITTF Development Impact
The Senegal training camp exemplifies ITTF’s comprehensive approach to development, which extends well beyond athlete preparation to encompass coach education, technical official certification, and grassroots capacity-building initiatives across the continent.