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By Joe Apu
Nigeria will have the highest number of automatic qualifiers for the 16th Africa Scrabble Championship after the Pan African Scrabble Association (PANASA) announced the recipients of its Wild Card slots for the continental tournament scheduled to hold later this year in Monrovia, Liberia.
Seven players secured automatic qualification through PANASA’s Wild Card system, with Nigeria accounting for four of the places, while Kenya claimed the remaining three.
Defending African champion Oluwatimilehin Doko earned an automatic place as the reigning continental title holder. He is joined by fellow Nigerians Cyril Umebiye, a President’s Cup champion, African Under-19 champion Prestige Archibong, and African Under-15 champion Sophia Ekeruche.
Kenya’s Wild Card recipients are President’s Cup winners Allan Oyende and Nicholas Mbugua, alongside Bernard Amuke, who secured the ECASA 2026 Wild Card slot.
PANASA President Adekoyejo Adegbesan explained that Amuke received the ECASA Wild Card after Oyende had already qualified automatically by winning the President’s Cup, making Amuke the next eligible player.
According to PANASA’s qualification guidelines, Wild Card slots are reserved for players who have won PANASA-organised tournaments, including sanctioned regional championships, since the conclusion of the previous Africa Scrabble Championship.
The association also clarified that the Wild Card allocations do not affect each country’s qualification quota. Participating nations will still be permitted to register up to 15 domestic players and five diaspora players for the championship.
Despite securing automatic qualification, all seven Wild Card recipients must complete the official registration process within the stipulated deadline to confirm their participation.
PANASA congratulated the qualifiers and expressed confidence that the 16th Africa Scrabble Championship in Monrovia will be another successful edition of Africa’s premier Scrabble tournament.
