Adegbesan backs Nigeria to retain African Scrabble crown

The President of the Pan African Scrabble Association, Adekoyejo Adegbesan, has backed Nigeria to retain its title at the 16th African Scrabble Championship in Monrovia, Liberia.

Adegbesan, popularly called Sheikh, believes the country’s record in the competition leaves it well placed to defend the crown despite losing several players who have relocated abroad. Nigeria has won 14 of the last 15 editions and is the dominant force in the sport on the continent.

“From what I see here today, even though we’ve lost a lot of our players who have relocated outside the country, I still think we have enough to win in Africa,” he said.

The PANASA president, however, warned against underrating Uganda and Kenya, whom he named as the main challengers. “I’ll put on my non-partisan hat here and say other countries too.

Uganda are good as well. Kenya also would participate and would compete,” he said. “I think it’s between those three countries, but Nigeria will still have more than enough to retain their title.”

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Adegbesan was also pleased with Liberia’s preparations, saying the Ministry of Sports has backed the national Scrabble association, including redesigning the championship banner and helping to organise the tournament. “Liberia is ready to host, and I think we’ll have the best tournament yet,” he said.

The championship runs from October 22 to 25, 2026, in Monrovia.

Adegbesan has been involved in Scrabble since the 1990s. He is chairman of Gateway Scrabble Club in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, and immediate past chairman of the Ogun State Scrabble Association.

Meanwhile, PANASA has opened an additional entry category for players who missed selection through their national associations’ qualification processes. In a statement dated October 9, 2026, the body said such players may still enter, provided their applications are submitted and endorsed by their national Scrabble associations or federations.

PANASA stressed that individual players cannot register on their own. The registration fee is $300 per player, the same as for diaspora players, and national associations have been urged to inform their members of the opportunity.