The Zone IV African Boxing Championship kicks off this evening with the opening ceremony at the Estrela Vermelha Pavilion in Maputo.

The ceremony, according to the secretary-general of the Mozambican Boxing Federation (FMBoxe), António Hélio, quoted by the News will consist of a parade of delegations, the singing of the national anthem, performances by artists and speeches by leaders, including the Minister for Youth and Sport, Caifadine Manasse, and representatives of the regional confederation.

The officials and leaders of regional boxing are already in the country's capital and are working together with FMBoxe to iron out the final details for the event, which is expected to be full of color and light in the cathedral of national boxing.

Eight countries will take part in the event, which returns to Maputo three years later, namely South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Seychelles, Malawi, Comoros and Mozambique.

The competition will be contested in the men's +91kg, 91, 86, 80, 75, 71, 67, 63.5, 60, 57 and 48kg categories.

In the women's competition, there will be +81, 80, 75, 70, 66, 63, 60, 57, 54, 50 and 48kg, in a qualifying system, with the final scheduled for Sunday, March 2.

In this competition, Mozambique will be represented by 24 boxers. Of particular note is the return of Lourenço Cossa, an experienced athlete who in recent years has been dedicated to professional boxing in Portugal.

Other renowned performers are Yassine Nordine, Armando Sigaúque, Rady Gramane and Alcinda dos Santos, the main contenders for the gold medals in their respective categories.

Tiago Muxanga, Bernardo Marrime and Solomone Júlio are the major absentees for Mozambique, who in recent years have been part of the hard core of the national team.

The 24 squad members have been training since Monday in one of the capital's hotels.