Africa-Press – Angola. The president of the Angolan Federation of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Armando Diogo, said this Sunday, in this city, that they will invest in the massification of the sport to discover new talents, with a view to the 2026 World Cup.
According to the director, who was speaking at the end of the national MMA competition, the 2026 World Championship will be held in Luanda and it is necessary to project new talents, aiming for a worthy participation in the competition.
On the other hand, Armando Diogo said that by bringing the national competition to Benguela, we are complying with the Federation’s program, which involves taking MMA to all provinces of Angola.
“We want to continue and we will go to other provinces. We have already been to Uíge and Huíla, now we are in Benguela”, he said.
The person in charge stated that they knew that they would find a lot of talent in Benguela, which is why there are athletes who, even without reaching the podium, were reselected for pre-selection, because they convinced.
Likewise, he informed that the National Championship also served to prepare for the African Championship, which will take place from May 27th to June 2nd in the Republic of Namibia. “The revalidation of the continental title is our goal”, he emphasized.
For him, the widespread use of the sport is being positive, because he is seeing athletes from various municipalities across the country practicing MMA, which makes him very satisfied.
On the occasion, he congratulated the athletes and those who worked for the success of the race, but regretted the little support from local authorities.
“I have a positive assessment of the championship, because there was a great dedication from the athletes, when we thought that the stars and champions would go for a walk and that was not what happened. There was a lot of balance”, he stated.
He said that, at this time, the sport is practiced in 14 provinces, with legalization lacking in Cuanza Sul, Cuanza Norte, Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul.
The 3rd National MMA Championship was held from April 19th to 21st, at the Acácias Rubras pavilion, in the city of Benguela, and saw the participation of 11 provinces.
The race had athletes from the provinces of Benguela, Bengo, Bengo, Bié, Cuando Cubango, Huambo, Huíla, Luanda, Namibe, Uíge and Zaire, in the senior and junior categories (male and female)
The province of Luanda was the big winner of the competition, winning 22 medals.
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
