Africa Gets 14 Olympic Boxing Slots for LA 2028 Games

Africa has been allocated only 14 direct qualification spots for the boxing event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, a reduction from the 18 slots the continent received ahead of the Paris 2024 Games, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The allocation, confirmed by the International Olympic Committee and World Boxing, gives Africa and Oceania one quota spot each per weight category, while Asia, Europe and Pan-America receive two spots per weight class per gender.

The 14 weight categories are split equally between men and women. The women’s classes are 51kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 65kg, 70kg and 75kg, while men will compete at 55kg, 60kg, 65kg, 70kg, 80kg, 90kg and above 90kg.

African boxers will have multiple opportunities to secure qualification across four phases. The 2027 World Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, scheduled for April 2027, will be the first qualifying event, offering 44 spots in total.

Semi-finalists in the first four Olympic weight categories for both men and women will earn quotas, while only finalists will secure spots in the remaining categories.

Following the World Championships, each continent will hold its own qualifier. Africa’s continental qualifier will offer one spot per weight class.

A further 46 spots will be available at the first World Qualifier, while a second World Qualifier will serve as the final opportunity, offering between 28 and 36 places depending on how many host country spots the United States has already secured.

The host nation, the United States, is guaranteed a maximum of six quota places, three per gender, with any already earned through other routes deducted from that total.

Eight universality spots, four per gender, will also be available for eligible nations, though the nominated boxer must have participated in at least one of the listed qualification tournaments. Athletes must have been born between January 1, 1988 and December 31, 2009, to be eligible.

At Paris 2024, Africa sent 22 boxers to compete after a last-minute withdrawal and a doping exclusion reduced what was initially a group of 24. Algeria led the contingent with five athletes, while Morocco and Egypt had three each.