SCRABBLE: African players in a rush to register for Pan African President’s Cup

By Maxwell Kumoye

As the date for the inaugural edition of the Pan African Scrabble Association President Cup draws closer, many players from the continent have indicated their willingness to be part of the historic event.

Report reaching your authoritative news channel indicates that there is a rush by scrabble players from different parts of the continent.

Players from Cameroon, Botswana, Ghana, The Gambia, Uganda and Kenya have already registered for the competition which holds in Nigeria in August this year.

The President of Pan African Scrabble Association (PANASA), Adekoyejo Adegbesan, explained that players from about 25 countries from all over the World are expected to battle for the over 31,000 dollars prize money on offer.

“As of today, players from Botswana, Cameroon, Uganda, Ghana, Zambia, The Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone have all registered for the PANASA President’s Cup.” Adegbesan said.

One of the finest wordsmith on the continent, Uganda’s Edgar Odongkara, is among the sixty seven players who have registered for the Scrabble Feast.

Kenya’s number Allan Oyende and Chris Ntege of Uganda are two household names on continent heading to Nigeria for the PANASA President’s Cup.

The biggest and richest scrabble prize money event on the continent of Africa, The President’s Cup, has been scheduled to hold between the 24th and 28th of August in Lekki-Lagos, Nigeria.

Adekoyejo Adegbesan, who was elected President of the Pan African Scrabble Association in October last year in Lusaka, Zambia, explained that the President’s Cup which is open to all Scrabble players from Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the World is one of his campaign promises, that another bi-annual competition will be added to the African Scrabble Championship at the senior level.

“We have slots for a hundred and fifty players, so far sixty seven players have registered and the window for registration closes July 31st.” The PANASA President added.

Over 31,000 dollars has been set aside as prize money for the The President’s Cup, the top prize which is the Gbenga Ojofeitimi Trophy is 5,000 dollars. SM Quartey Trophy which is the second prize is 2,500 dollars and 1,700 dollars goes to the third placed player.

The prize money will be spread to the top 15 players and special prizes will be giving to the best placed player from a country that register at least three participants. This Special prize is open to the following countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroun, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia and South Africa.

The top two female players at the end of the championship will get an additional prize money irrespective of their standing at the end of the event.

25 games will be played during the preliminary rounds of the competition, 5 rounds of games will be played in the semi final while 5 rounds will be decided in the final. Collins Scrabble Words 2021 dictionary will be used at the event.

Registration for the President’s Cup opened on the 1st of March and closes on the 21st of July and any player who wants to hit the board come August will pay $50 as registration fee. PANASA will not accept late entries.

Players based in Nigeria, who choose to pay in the local currency, naira, will be asked to pay using the USD exchange rate (BUY) on the day of their registration.

It will interest you to know that PANASA has signed a deal with Kenyan Airways. Players coming to Nigeria for the two-in-one event will get discount. The discount code will be issued for flights to Lagos, Nigeria during the period of the Championship. Voucher will only be valid for use from Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa and Tanzania.

In order to add some spice and colour to The President’s Cup, PANASA, will be staging a 1-day final fling event being planned for Sunday 27th August 2023.

There are five hospitality packages for players who will be enjoying the serine environment of Orchid Hotel. Gold, Silver, Orange, Purple and Blue are the different packages that are pocket friendly.

The first four packages that is Gold, Silver, Orange and Purple are for the entire stay at Orchid Hotel during the President’s Cup, while the Blue package, which does not include accommodation, is for all registered players.

Gold: $300
Silver: $265
Orange: $250
Purple: $215
Blue: $50

The President of Pan African Scrabble Association (PANASA), Adekoyejo Adegbesan, who is also the Chairman of Ogun State Scrabble Association (OSSA), stated that the President’s Cup will certainly change the face of the game of words in Nigeria and the continent as PANASA will put up an event that will not only showcase the sport but also project Lekki-Lagos, Nigeria and Africa to the rest of the World.

“We will offer all the players the very best of Nigeria hospitality in a captivating environment.” The President, fondly called Sheikh stressed.

Similarly, over two hundred and twenty young scrabble players from across Africa has signify their desire to be part of the PANASA Youth Championship which holds in Nigeria at the same time with the President’s Cup.

President of Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF), Engineer Toke Aka, says Team Nigeria to the African Youth Scrabble Championship will be selected from top scrabble playing Schools and scrabble academies across the country.

Currently, Kenya is conducting it’s national trials to select their team. Over 300 kids are participating in the Kenyan trials.