The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is ready to host the 21st edition of the Africa Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships from October 14-27 in Kinshasa.
That’s the assurance from the Deputy Secretary-General of the DRC Boxing Federation Pierre Ambongi who ruled out Mpox epidemic as a threat to Africa’s premier boxing event.
“The disease does not exist in Kinshasa, out of the 26 provinces of the DRC only four are affected. All the affected provinces are 2,000 kilometers from Kinshasa,” said Ambongi.
“Therefore I want to assure all participating countries there’s no cause for alarm, Mpox will not interfere with the Africa Championships tournament, and there are no restrictions at the airport.
“We’re ready to stage the tournament. On Friday we hosted AFCON 2025 football qualifying match between DRC and Guinea in Kinshasa at the Stade des Martyrs. The match brought together more than 60,000 people. Otherwise life in Kinshasa is going on normally and people are busy with their daily activities.”
This week the DRC government received 99,100 doses of Mpox vaccine to launch a vaccination campaign aimed at curbing the spread of the disease in the four affected provinces.
Ambongi said they expect over 40 countries to take part in the Africa Elite Championships. On Wednesday (September 11), the Minister in charge of sports Didier Budimbu will launch the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to kick off the countdown to the event.
Meanwhile, the DRC national boxing team which has been preparing for the Africa Elite Championships in Lubumbashi will move their training camp to the neighbouring Congo Brazzaville on Wednesday. The team is being handled by head coach Toussaint Lofanga assisted by Baoba Ilunga. DRC finished second to Morocco in last year’s tournament in Yaounde, Cameroon.
“We’re not taking any chances as the hosts. This time we want to win the tournament,” said Ambongi
Credit: AFBC Communications
