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With 25 days to go until the 2026 All Africa Challenge Trophy (AACT), attention is increasingly turning to Abuja, where Nigeria will host Africa’s premier women’s team golf championship, against the backdrop of an ever-expanding women’s golf movement in the country.
The championship, scheduled to take place from 2 to 7 November 2026 at the IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja, will mark the third time Nigeria has hosted the prestigious continental competition, following the 1996 edition at the Ikoyi Club 1938, Lagos, and the 2010 tournament at the IBB International Golf and Country Club.
Nigeria secured hosting rights for 2026 in 2024 after submitting its bid to Morocco, with the then president of the Ladies Golf Association of Nigeria (LGAN), Evelyn Oyome, heading the Nigerian delegation. Project reports
For Oyome, who is now the immediate past president of LGAN, the return of AACT to Nigeria represents more than another opportunity for the country to stage a major international sporting event. This comes at a time when the profile of women’s golf is expanding, with more and more women participating in competitive golf and taking on various professional and administrative responsibilities within the sport.
From hosting rights to a growing women’s golf community
Oyome’s involvement in securing the hosting rights gives her a particularly important perspective on the meaning of the 2026 championship. Nigeria’s successful bid followed the 2024 AACT in Morocco, where the country competed against other potential hosts and ultimately emerged with the right to stage the next edition.
Since then, the development has given the Nigerian women’s golf community the opportunity to demonstrate the progress made since the country last hosted the championship in 2010. The AACT is not simply a tournament where national teams compete for the continental title; it is also an important platform for exposing amateur golfers to higher levels of competition and creating opportunities for players to develop towards international careers.
The growth of the game is reflected in the increasing number of women participating in tournaments and the emergence of women in several areas of golf, including competitive play, coaching, administration, club leadership and professional golf.
One of the clearest examples of such expansion came at the 2025 IBB International Golf and Country Club Ladies Open, which was attended by more than 450 golfers from more than 50 clubs across Nigeria, along with players from Ghana, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Uganda. The tournament was described by the organizers as the largest Ladies Open in the club’s history.
The scale of this participation provides an indication of the deep interest that women’s golf is beginning to generate in Nigeria. It also demonstrates that the development of the sport is not limited to a handful of established players, but is increasingly supported by tournaments that bring together golfers from different parts of the country and other African nations.
Oyome’s success reflects the changing landscape
Oyome herself was one of the leading figures of Nigeria’s amateur women’s golf scene. In February 2025, she won the IBB Ladies Amateur Golf Open for the third consecutive year, successfully defending the titles she won in 2023 and 2024. She finished with a gross score of 248 over three rounds to retain the championship.
Her performances, coupled with her leadership role within LGAN, have placed her among the figures associated with the recent development and visibility of women’s golf in Nigeria. Its participation in the successful 2024 AACT hosting bid further linked the growth of the domestic game with Nigeria’s return to the continental scene as a host country.
The IBB Ladies Open 2025 also demonstrated the potential of tournaments as talent identification platforms. The event featured amateur and professional categories, while organizers noted that the competition offered players the opportunity to earn world rankings. The participation of younger golfers alongside established players further underlined the potential of a move from grassroots and amateur golf to higher level competition.
This pipeline will be important for the long-term development of the sport. For Nigeria to build a sustainable framework for women’s golf, participation must continue to expand beyond established clubs and traditional golf communities, giving younger girls the opportunity to learn the game, compete regularly and see realistic pathways to professional careers.
AACT returns to Abuja after 16 years
The return of the AACT to the IBB International Golf and Country Club also has considerable historical significance.
AACT was first organized in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1992 and subsequently moved to different regions of the continent. Nigeria first hosted the championship in 1996 at Ikoyi Club 1938 before welcoming it back to Abuja in 2010. The 2026 edition will therefore be the third time the country has hosted the biennial championship.
The 2010 edition of the IBB provided Nigerian golfers with a home-field advantage, although the host nation was unable to lift the trophy. South Africa continued to dominate the competition, while Nigeria finished ninth.
Sixteen years later, the Nigerian team will return to the same venue with a new generation of players and with a much larger domestic women’s golf environment surrounding the competition.
The significance of such progress is not just about Nigeria’s chances on the path. It’s also about what has changed in the sport: the growth of female participation, stronger national tournaments, greater professional involvement and greater recognition of women as players and leaders in Nigerian golf.
Beyond golf: tourism, investments and sports diplomacy
The 2026 championship is also being positioned as an opportunity to use sport to promote Nigeria beyond the golf course.
The Ladies Golf Association of Nigeria has sought collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy to use the tournament as a platform for tourism promotion, cultural diplomacy and investment attraction. Organizers have proposed cultural activities and a sports-to-business investment pavilion as part of the broader program surrounding the championship.
The National Sports Commission equally supported Nigeria’s staging of the event, with President Mallam Shehu Dikko linking international sporting events to the government’s broader sports economics agenda. According to Dikko, major tournaments can create jobs, stimulate tourism and improve Nigeria’s international image, generating business across the entire sports value chain.
The championship is expected to bring national teams and officials from across Africa to Abuja. Recent reports indicate that around 30 African countries are expected, while previous organizers had indicated interest from more than 30 countries.
For Abuja, this presents an opportunity to showcase the Federal Capital Territory as more than just a political capital. Hotels, transport operators, restaurants, hospitality businesses and other service providers may benefit from the arrival of visiting players, officials and supporters, while accompanying cultural and commercial activities could broaden the economic footprint of the tournament.
The IBB course is under rehabilitation
The choice of IBB International Golf and Country Club is also significant because the course has undergone extensive rehabilitation in preparation for the championship.
The club has been closed to regular golf activities for more than a year for rehabilitation, but its board of directors has assured organizers and participants that the course will be ready for the continental championship. Chairman of the Board of Directors, Judge Monica Dongban-Mensem, recently said that the facility is already in good condition and expressed confidence that the tournament will take place as planned.
Likewise, LGAN President Dr. Lami Onayi Ahmed assured participating countries of adequate security and organizational preparations, saying that measures have been put in place for players, officials and visitors expected for the championship.
Preparations are especially important because the 2026 AACT will involve more than just the championship itself. The official event schedule also includes a Supporters Game on November 3 and the Nigeria Ladies Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship from November 7-10, extending golf activities beyond the main AACT competition.
A new chapter for Nigerian women’s golf
As the countdown reaches 25 days, the significance of AACT 2026 is therefore increasingly linked to what the championship represents for the future of women’s golf in Nigeria.
The tournament will provide an opportunity for Nigeria’s leading female golfers to compete against some of the continent’s best amateur players on home soil, but its wider value may lie in the exposure it creates for the next generation.
For girls watching the championship in Abuja and elsewhere, the message is that golf can offer more than just recreational participation. It can provide pathways into elite competition, professional play, coaching, administration, club management and other areas of the growing sports industry.
This is the long-term opportunity embedded in Nigeria’s hosting of the AACT.
From the successful 2024 bid led by Oyome, to the growing participation seen in national competitions such as the IBB Ladies Open, and now the return of Africa’s premier women’s team golf championship in Abuja, Nigeria’s women’s golf community is coming into the spotlight with considerably greater depth and visibility.
With 25 days to go, the focus may be on preparations for the championship, but the bigger story is the development taking place behind it.
Africa is coming to Abuja and the growing community of Nigerian female golfers will have the opportunity to show how far the game has evolved.
