Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) has confirmed Nigeria and 10 others for the maiden appearance of mixed martial arts (MMA) event at the 13th African Games taking place in Accra, Ghana.
At Accra 2023, MMA will be featured for the first time as a demonstration from Sunday, March 10 to Monday, March 12. Other countries listed for the event include Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt,Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Libya and host – Ghana.
The amateur MMA rules competition, under the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA), will join six other demonstration sports among 30 total disciplines. Eight of these will be qualifiers for this summer’s Paris 2024 Games.
The 13th edition of the four-year, multi-sport event runs from 8 to 23 March, organised by the African Union (AU), the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), the Association of African Sports Confederations (AASC) and the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA).
Officially recognised in Africa by the Association of African Sports Confederations (AASC), GAMMA has 20 recognised and active member federations on the continent, including host federation the Ghanaian Mixed Martial Arts Association.
GAMMA’s vision is to see mixed martial arts formally recognised as a sport internationally by the Olympic movement and to one day enter The Olympic Games. Acceptance into the African Games provides a milestone for the sport as it advances MMA’s quest for recognition. As for Africa, the achievement is an accolade to Africa’s MMA’s athletes as the sport continues to grow across the continent.
Following the closure of registration, medical checks and weigh ins on Friday March 8, the Tournament Draw took place on Saturday March 9, ahead of commencement of the matches on Sunday, March 10, as a team, which was selected during national MMA Championship in February organised by Boxing and MMA Hall of Fame) an official representative of GAMMA in Nigeria) will represent Nigeria in the event and this include, Albert Idowu Lucky, Eweh Emmanuel Benard, Eze Daniel Emeke, Gabriel Karo, Idowu Busayo Khadijat, Muzan Richard, Obanla Joy Ebanda, Peter Winifred Agara and Sodiq Olanike Rasheeda.
Excited President of GAMMA, Alexander Engelhardt said: “We stand at a great moment for MMA as it is welcomed into the Olympic programme at the African Games in a first for the sport. Not only is this a tribute to the development of MMA in Africa and the efforts of our members, but a fantastic platform for African MMA athletes and one which will no doubt spur further growth. The learning curve has been steep for our young federations as to engaging with the processes of their sport ministries, National Olympic Committees and the Local Organising Committee to complete entry to an event of this scale, while as a demonstration sport, MMA is not eligible for financial support in most countries. Despite this, of GAMMA’s twenty-four nations, eleven countries will be fielding a team this time and putting a stake in the ground. We look forward to the commencement of competition on Sunday in the 2023 edition of the African Games and many more to come, in which MMA’s footprint is only set to grow.”