From 13-15 June, Egypt will host the 20th African Championships, utilising the International Stadium in its capital city as the competition arena. Two weeks later, the Philippines will host the Asian Championships.
The African SAMBO Championships will bring together three distinct disciplines, covering Sport SAMBO, Combat SAMBO, and Beach SAMBO, with both men and women competing across a wide range of weight categories.
In the men’s Sport SAMBO and Combat SAMBO competitions, athletes will compete across the 58 kg, 64 kg, 71 kg, 79 kg, 88 kg, 98 kg, and over 98 kg divisions, whilst the women’s brackets for both styles feature the 59 kg, 65 kg, and 72 kg categories. For Beach SAMBO, the men’s tournament includes the 58 kg, 71 kg, 88 kg, and over 88 kg fields, whereas the women will contest the 50 kg, 59 kg, 72 kg, and over 72 kg divisions.
Delegations are scheduled to begin arriving in Cairo on June 11, with team registration and accreditation getting underway at the Jewel Glorious Hotel. The following day, June 12, will be dedicated to the African SAMBO Confederation Congress alongside the official referees’ meeting, technical meeting, and the initial weigh-in and draw.
The main Sport SAMBO and Combat SAMBO competitions will take place at the Cairo International Stadium across June 13 and 14. On the final day of the tournament, June 15, Beach SAMBO athletes will move to Egypt’s golden sands to compete for medals in their discipline.
Following the action in Egypt, the focus shifts to Southeast Asia. The Philippine Sports Commission has officially endorsed the 2026 Asia and Oceania SAMBO Championships, which are scheduled to take place at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila from June 25 to 28. This decision followed an official courtesy visit to the PSC by Pilipinas SAMBO Federation Inc. Founder and President Paolo Tancontian and Head Coach Ace Larida.
The delegation also featured SAMBO Union of Asia and Oceania Secretary General and Technical Delegate Suresh Gopi, alongside Sydney Sy Tancontian, who is an Asia and Oceania SAMBO champion, World SAMBO Championships medallist, and chair of the FIAS Athletes Commission.
PSC Chairman Patrick Gregorio expressed his appreciation to Secretary General Gopi for selecting Manila as the host city, noting that organising large-scale international competitions of this calibre plays a significant role in advancing the country’s sports tourism agenda. The championships are expected to attract more than 500 athletes from 31 countries across the Asia-Oceania region.
With less than a month to go before the competition kicks off, the Philippines is actively preparing to perform on home ground. Head Coach Ace Larida stated that the 21-strong national team is currently about 85 per cent ready and motivated to defend their standing in front of a home crowd, expressing confidence that the Filipino athletes will reach peak condition by the time the tournament begins.
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