3 November 2026 · 1 min read
Moaaz Wael Mohamed has flown out of Dubai for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, where he will become the UAE's first boxer at an Olympic event. He fights in the boys' 70kg, with boxing running from 7 to 12 November.
UAE boxing is about to make history. Moaaz Wael Mohamed flew out of Dubai International Airport on Tuesday, bound for Senegal and the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, where he will become the first boxer to represent the UAE at an Olympic event.
The UAE Boxing Federation marked the departure on Instagram with a simple message from the plane: UAE to Senegal, Youth Olympics.
Moaaz will compete in the boys' 70kg category. The boxing competition runs from 7 to 12 November at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop in Dakar.
“A historic milestone for UAE boxing and a defining moment for a young athlete with an extraordinary opportunity ahead.”
UAE Boxing Federation
A milestone for the national programme
The UAE Boxing Federation announced Moaaz's selection in April. Federation President Anas Nasser Al Otaiba said it marked a milestone for boxing in the UAE and reflected the development of the sport at national level, adding that it showed the national programme's growing ability to produce athletes who can compete at the highest international level.
Moaaz is a two-time UAE national champion and also reached the quarter-finals at the Asian Boxing Championships.
Africa's first Olympic Games
Dakar 2026 is the fourth Youth Olympic Games and the first Olympic event ever held in Africa. Boxing has 120 places, split equally between 60 boys and 60 girls from 79 National Olympic Committees, across ten weight categories. It is also the first Youth Olympics with World Boxing as the sport's international federation.
NXT FIGHT will follow Moaaz's progress in Dakar. Good luck from all of us.