The 2026 FIBA Africa Regional Youth Camp will take place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and Tunis, Tunisia. FIBA Africa is bringing the development project back to both cities this year, following similarly successful events in 2021 and 2022. The camp will once again provide a unique opportunity for some of Africa’s most promising young basketball players to develop their on-court skills, forge lifelong friendships with their peers and coaches, and gain invaluable life lessons. An all-girls camp will be held in Tunis from October 15 to 18. The boys’ camp will take place in Abidjan from October 23 to 25. Each camp will feature 25 participants selected from across the continent, along with 15 additional spots reserved for local players from the host nation, bringing the total number of participants at each camp to 40. Similar camps were held in Kigali, Rwanda, and Bamako, Mali, in 2023. The expanded 2024 edition brought boys’ and girls’ camps to the Japoma Sports Complex in Douala, Cameroon, and the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Last year’s edition was held at the Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Cairo, Egypt. Beyond identifying and nurturing African basketball talent, the camps aim to empower young people to become key drivers of positive change, using basketball as a vehicle for personal development and social impact. Since its launch in 2021, the FIBA Africa Youth Camp has reached players from 43 countries and benefited a total of 240 young basketball players, including 90 girls. Egypt’s Salma Khedr attended the FIBA Africa Youth Camp in 2022 before representing Egypt at the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup in Hungary that same year. She went on to suit up for Egypt at this year’s FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Spain. Other notable participants in the 2021 and 2022 Youth Camps include Egypt’s Saifaddin Hendawy, who became an African U18 champion in 2022; Madagascar’s Andri Lovasoa, who captained the young Ankoays to a silver medal at the FIBA U18 African Championship 2022 and subsequently helped lead them to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2023 in Hungary; and Mali’s Fatoumata Samake. The platform is a core component of FIBA Africa’s development strategy, designed to prepare young players for the demands of high-level competition while providing valuable training and exposure opportunities, including through the presence of scouts from different parts of the world.
