World Juniors: Africa Beckons

When the VICTOR BWF World Junior Championships begin in Egypt on Monday 5 October, it will mark only the second time ever that the tournament has visited Africa.

It has been 24 years since Pretoria in South Africa hosted the world’s premier junior tournament. With the 26th edition of the World Juniors, badminton in Africa is poised to make a big leap, entering new territory as it were. Participation from the continent is at a high – nine countries have entered.

Of the 47 teams competing at the BWF World Junior Team Championships for the Suhandinata Cup, 19 from Europe, 13 from Asia, four from Pan Am, and two from Oceania, besides nine from Africa.

Team China at the World Junior Championships 2025

The team championships will be held from 5-10 October, followed by the individual championships that will conclude on 17 October.

The team championships will see the implementation of a revised relay scoring system. Each tie will be played for best of three sets, with each set played to 55 points. A set is composed of five matches (one each of men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles), with each match played to 11 points.

The individual championships will continue to use the 3×15 scoring system that was played at the last edition.

Development & Integrity Initiatives

Players at an Athlete 365+ programme at the World Juniors 2025

With the enormous opportunity that the World Junior Championships present for Africa, BWF is rolling out a slew of Development and Integrity activities.

Development initiatives consist of a BWF Youth Athlete Development Camp, Beyond Badminton, IOC Athlete 365 Career + Workshop, BWF Community Coach Educator Workshop, and a Female Coaches Mentorship Programme.

The Youth Development Camp, from 30 September to 2 October, includes training sessions, workshops on leadership, career and integrity.

Beyond Badminton consists of outreach through info booth and info sessions, which will be spread out over the course of the team championships and individual championships.

The i-Zone, a feature at World Junior Championships, will continue its presence through the championships, engaging with teams to educate and raise awareness on integrity. Participating players must complete recognised anti-doping education before they arrive in Egypt.