President of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation, (NSF), Engineer Olobatoke Aka, has assured the nation that Team Nigeria will be calling the shots, at the second edition of the Africa Youth Scrabble Championship, (AYSC).
He gave this strong assurance in an interview yesterday, hinging his confidence on Team Nigeria’s capacity to deliver the desire result at the big stage.
“The goal is for us to dominate as we have been dominating in the adult scrabble. The goal is for us to show our talent, because we are naturally inclined to play good scrabble in the world, the whole world knows us to that feat so we don’t want the youths to be left behind,” he said.
Toke Aka explained, that he is not bluffing as the NSF specially picked some of the very best of Young scrabble players to represent the Giants of Africa.
“One unique thing about this Team Nigeria, is that members of the team was selected from many other players, they were selected to represent Nigeria after rigorous competitions,” he emphasized.
Defending champions, Nigeria will be calling the shots in Kenya with a 7-member squad, featuring 3 females and 4 males.
Captain Sufyan Boluwatife Olojoku, a fierce and tactical scrabbler, will be leading the rampage in the East African country, alongside Joy Nwabuzor, Abdulqudus Aliu, Hassan Olojoku, Prestige Archibong, Sophia Ekeruche and Eliana Igbe.
The NSF President further emphasized that although Nigeria is not fielding a large team, they are potent enough to cause serious damage in the land of Harambee Stars.
“There are more prizes than we are taking players for, but I’m 99 percent sure that the number we are taking for the championship will definitely win prizes,” he said.
He expressed deep joy and excitement in the squad, adding that the Team is a product of years of hardwork by the federation in developing Scrabble among the youths.
“I feel highly elated and fulfilled, for some time now, we have been concentrating more on adult scrabble, but the time has come now for the youths to also shine. And this is so because in the last few years we’ve been developing the youth scrabble, because we also need a feeder for the adult Scrabble, it makes me feel highly elated that we were able to compete at the second edition of the Africa Youth Scrabble Championship,” he explained.
The Africa Youth Scrabble Championship (AYSC) is a biennial continental competition for young scrabble enthusiasts, organized by the Pan African Scrabble Association (PANASA), and is scheduled to take place from August 14th to 17th, 2025, at Brighton International School in Syokimau, Machakos County.
The championship will feature two categories: Under 15 and Under 19, with 150 players from 11 countries expected to participate.
