From September 7th to 9th this month, the city of Casablanca in Morocco is hosting the 2023 edition of the senior African championship. Organised by the African Judo Union, this continental competition brings together 229 judokas (131 men and 98 women) from 39 countries, including Gabon with three athletes. The Judo Association of Zambia's duo of judokas, Simon Zulu and Steven Mung’andu, stepped onto the tatami at the ongoing African Senior Championships in Casablanca, Morocco. The competition is part of the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers. Simon Zulu, competing in the -60 kg category, managed to secure a bronze medal after defeating Dhouibi Fraj of Tunisia. Meanwhile, Steven Mung'andu finished 5th after losing in the bronze final contest against Tunisian Harbi Azizi in the -66 kg category. According to a leader of the Gabonese Judo Federation, who spoke anonymously, "There is unfortunately no leader on-site. We had no support from the state (former Minister of Sports: editor’s note) despite our brilliant results in recent months." A similar incident recently occurred in Zambia, where the Ministry of Sports abandoned the Darts Association. Should football be the only mainstream sport to receive significant support from governments across the globe?