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FILE – A pair of gloves belonging to Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland is seen left on the ground after Jedrzejczyk misplaced to Zhang Weili of China within the girls’s strawweight bout in the course of the Final Preventing Championship (UFC) 275 occasion in Singapore on June 12, 2022. (Photograph by NICHOLAS YEO / AFP)
Combined Martial Arts (MMA) will function within the wider sports activities program within the 2023 African Video games in Ghana, the organizers mentioned on Monday.
The occasion, which was set to happen in August however has been postponed to March 2024 resulting from financial and infrastructure points, will now see MMA becoming a member of e-sports, speedball, sambo and teqball as a part of the demonstration sports activities.
They’ll sit alongside the 15 Olympic sports activities beforehand introduced, lots of which can supply Olympic qualification alternatives for the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games, and the ten non-Olympic sports activities.
“Including MMA into this system of sports activities is a really optimistic signal that Africa is able to welcome the newer sports activities and people sports activities which have an ideal international curiosity,” mentioned President of the Ghanian Nationwide Olympic Committee Ben Nunoo Mensah.
“There are a lot of kids not solely in Ghana, however throughout Africa which can be taking part in MMA and these video games present an ideal alternative to witness one of the best athletes in Africa competing on this thrilling sport.”
The information has been welcomed by the International Affiliation of Combined Martial Arts (GAMMA) which has 24 member federations in Africa.
“We’re completely delighted that the organizers have included us as one of many demonstration sports activities and we hope that this shall be a catalyst for inclusion in different multi-sport video games sooner or later,” GAMMA President Alexander Engelhardt mentioned.
“The work of our group, the standard of our athletes, our capacity to stage the easiest occasions, and the worth of our international group is being acknowledged by our inclusion and this occasion will certainly assist our sport to proceed its fast development.”
The 2023 African Video games will happen from March 8-23 in Accra, Ghana.
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