Kenya's Hit Squad to miss out on Africa Boxing Championships due to lack of funds

Kenya’s national boxing team - Hit Squad - will miss the 21st edition of the African Boxing Championships organized by the AFBC in Yaoundé, Cameroon from June 21 to July 3, 2023, the Boxing Federation of Kenya confirmed on Friday.

The decision to skip the continental championships that have so far attracted over 26 nations comes as a result of lack of funding from the Sports Ministry.

Speaking to Mozzart Sport to confirm the development, Boxing Federation of Kenya Communications Director Duncan Kuria mentioned that the fact that the team had participated in two back to back World Boxing Championships contributed to the Government opting out of sponsoring the team for the Cameroon trip.

“At the end of the day it's really disappointing for the boxers because the championships contribute massively to individual ranking points that play a big role in Olympics qualification,” Kuria reacted.

“Over the years, we are now uncertain of the Olympics qualification pathway for our boxers and so it's a big blow.”

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The International Olympic Committee in September last year clarified that Olympics qualification would be taken away from the hands of IBA but rather involve the use of National Olympic Committee (NOC) regional multisport events as Olympic boxing qualification tournaments.

“I remember the All Africa Games in 2019 when a couple of Nigerian boxers booked their slots to the Tokyo Olympics directly without having to navigate through the qualifiers,” Kuria added.

“These tournaments matter because next year we will have fewer boxers going through with the reduced weight categories.”

The allocation for men boxers is now set at seven weight categories from the initial 13, with the women categories set at six, with middleweight being the highest weight.

The Boxing Federation will now embark on staging the 2024 Paris Olympics trials for its elite men and women boxers that will take place on 29 June to 1 July at Charter Hall, Nairobi.

“Only boxers above the intermediate level and are in the Olympic weights will be allowed to participate,” Kuria added.

Kenya’s last participation in the Africa Boxing Championships was last year in Maputo, Mozambique when two male boxers; Samuel Njau and retired Nick Okoth reached the finals, ultimately taking silver as did team skipper Elizabeth Andiego.

Collectively, Kenya finished with three silvers and one bronze - won by Boniface Mugunde.