The Italian Fencing Federation (Federazione Italiana Scherma (FIS) has promised that it would provide technical support to the Nigerian Fencing Federation (NFF) as the country prepares to host the 2025 African Senior Championships, scheduled to hold in Lagos, from June 25 to 29, 2025.
The support, it said, is part of the four-year partnership agreement signed by both countries.
Italy signed a four-year partnership agreement in December 2024 to advance the development of fencing in Nigeria through technical support and knowledge transfer.
As part of this plan, a top Italian fencing coach is expected to arrive in Nigeria next month to train coaches and athletes ahead of the continental showpiece.
According to the Nigerian federation, the coach will lead a training camp focused on coach development, complemented by athlete training, in preparation for the Senior African Fencing Championships. This camp will precede the tournament.
As one of the top fencing nations in the world, Italy’s technical support will help update the knowledge of Nigerian coaches and assist athletes in their preparation for the African championship.
NFF President, Adeyinka Samuel, said at the weekend that the decision to bring in a top Italian coach is part of the partnership aimed at empowering Nigerian coaches and assisting athletes in their tournament preparation.
“We are excited to start our partnership with this laudable initiative of having a top Italian coach come over to train our coaches and help prepare our athletes for the continental championships next month.
“This is a major step for us in ensuring that we update our coaches and allow our athletes to learn from a world-class coach. It is indeed a cost-effective effort, as it is cheaper to have the coach come over rather than flying our coaches and athletes to Italy for training.
“We hope that the training camp will benefit our team, as we look forward to a good outing at the tournament. All our athletes, both local and foreign-based, are expected to be part of the exercise,” Samuel said.
Samuel revealed that FIS President, Prof. Luigi Mazzone, is expected to be a special guest of honour at the 2025 Senior African Fencing Championships.
