3 Days to Go: 1st West Africa Para Games – Who Are the Next Big Para Sports Stars?
With just three days to go, anticipation is rising across the region as West Africa counts down to the 1st West Africa Para Games, scheduled to hold from November 26 to December 3 in Abeokuta, Nigeria.
The historic event will unite para-athletes from Zones A and B, setting the stage for a new generation of champions to emerge.
A key question fuels excitement ahead of the Games: Where will the next para stars come from?
Nigeria’s recent exploits on the international stage serve as a powerful reminder of the talent that can rise from regional platforms such as this.
At the 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Folashade Oluwafemiayo won Nigeria’s 11th and final gold medal, reinforcing her status as one of the world’s most dominant para powerlifters.
Before now, Eniola Bolaji announced herself as a global sensation, winning medals at both the World Championships and the Paralympic Games. And icons like Lauritta Onye, a Paralympic gold medallist and world champion, continue to inspire the next wave of athletes.
As the inaugural West Africa Para Games draw closer, the event promises to be a powerful platform for discovering and elevating the region’s next generation of para-athletic heroes.
Delegations from across West Africa are finalising their arrivals, while technical officials, classifiers, volunteers, and medical teams are completing the final stages of readiness.
The Games will feature competition across 10 sports, including amputee football, para swimming, para powerlifting, para table tennis, wheelchair basketball, goalball, sitting volleyball, para athletics, wheelchair tennis, and deaf sports.
This diversity ensures that athletes of varying classifications and strengths will have the opportunity to showcase their abilities, break new ground, and chase continental glory.
Athletes will be competing not only for medals but for the chance to become the next breakout para-sport success stories—athletes who may one day follow in the footsteps of Oluwafemiayo, Bolaji, Onye, and other continental legends.
