Twenty-teams confirm 2024 AAGTC participation

THE 2024 All-Africa Golf Team Championships (AAGTC) will be held at Bulawayo Golf Club in October, with teams from 20 countries already confirmed to participate.

The event is the largest amateur golf tournament in Africa and is expected to attract top talent from October 27 to November 2.

Morocco claimed the 2022 title in Egypt, the first nation besides South Africa to do so after the AAGTC debuted in 2001.

The other countries committed to taking part are Angola, Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and South Africa.

Morocco won the 2022 edition that was hosted by Egypt. They became the first country to beat the South Africans since the AAGTC was first hosted in South Africa in 2001.

Zimbabwe Golf Association president, Martin Chikwana, who also serves in the African Golf Confederation, is confident that they will host a successful event.

“We have new countries that have confirmed that they will be flying in. “We have been getting a lot of inquiries about how to get to Bulawayo and we have been reassuring them that it was easy to connect to Bulawayo.

“They can connect from Johannesburg, from Harare or Addis Ababa. We want to showcase Bulawayo as a very beautiful place with beautiful people.

“I’m sure, come the 27th, most of you will be here to witness the event and be a part of it and we are going to ask for volunteers to come through and assist in different aspects.

“It’s going to be a very huge event and I am sure with the support that the community will give us, as well as support from the whole country, we will successfully host this event,” said Chikwana.

The local organising committee is chaired by ZGA vice president, Stalin Masiya, who said their goal is to ensure that the tournament is a huge success.

“Coming to Bulawayo was not an accident, it was by design because this (Bulawayo Golf Club) is the oldest golf course in Zimbabwe and we know that we have very good people in Bulawayo and the hospitality is very good, so we know that our visitors will be catered for very well.

“Please support us, we want to make sure that this golf tournament comes to fruition, so we have a big job as the organising committee. We have people running around to make sure everything is on board.

I can assure you that we are optimistic that it will be very successful. I know with your support it will work and we will make Bulawayo proud,” said Masiya.

The ZGA has urged its stakeholders to walk this journey with them as it would help enhance their brand visibility. As one of Africa’s premier golfing events, it offers a platform for showcasing excellence and fostering connections within the golfing community.

The tournament will attract officials from esteemed organisations such as the Africa Golf Confederation and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A), further amplifying its significance internationally.—@brandon_malvin