Pétanque in Comoros

Comoros is a small but increasingly competitive pétanque nation: its men's triplette finished fifth in the world at the 2023 World Championship in Benin, and in 2025 the archipelago reached the final of the African Championship for the first time in its history. The islands are now preparing to showcase the sport as hosts of the 2027 Indian Ocean Games.

History

Pétanque in Comoros is governed by the Fédération Comorienne de Pétanque (FCP), one of the roughly two dozen national federations affiliated with the FIPJP through the continent's African Confederation (CASP). We could not independently verify an official FCP website; Abdillah Mzé Boina, known as "Franck," was reported as federation president in coverage as recent as 2024. Dr Nizar Ahamada is the federation's vice-president, per independent Comorian press coverage (alwatwan.net, comoresinfos.net) of the 2025 African Championship final referenced below - a more specific and current role than the "regional branch head on Ngazidja (Grande Comore)" title this profile previously (and incorrectly) attributed to him. Comorian press accounts trace the game's local popularity in part to Madagascar, from where it spread to the archipelago's main cities alongside the more general French-colonial diffusion of boules sports across the region. Moroni's Oasis boulodrome is among the capital's known venues, and Ngazidja alone has fielded around ten clubs for national qualifying competitions. The confederation itself has been in institutional dispute since January 2025, when a rival congress in Dakar - convened, per CASB's own arbitration filing, at FIPJP's instigation - established the CASP as a parallel body to the Confédération Africaine des Sports Boules (CASB); a May 21, 2026 Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling annulled FIPJP's withdrawal of recognition from the original CASB leadership, though CASP held its own elective general assembly two days later, on 23 May 2026 in Abidjan, where Mahmoud Archane - the outgoing president of Morocco's Fédération Royale Marocaine de Pétanque - was elected CASP president unanimously as the sole candidate, receiving all 19 votes cast by the member-federation representatives present, succeeding interim president Louly Mohamed Lemine after outgoing president Brahim Darwich of Senegal resigned; CASB, meanwhile, remains under its long-serving president, Idrissou Ibrahima of Benin. The two bodies remain split as of September 2026, with no public sign of reconciliation.

World Championship: Fifth in Triples

Comoros's best result on the world stage came at the 50th World Championships in Cotonou, Benin (8-17 September 2023). The Comorian men's triplette of Djanfar Youssouf, Miftahou M'dahoma Djaé, Hazdine Radjabou, and Hadji Moustoifa Ahmed advanced to the last 16 before losing 13-7 to Spain in the quarterfinal, finishing tied for fifth place alongside Congo, Morocco, and Senegal - a result that also made Comoros the second-best African nation that year, behind only Burkina Faso, which reached the semifinals. Thailand won the 2023 title.

Financial and visa obstacles have since kept Comoros from building on that result at world level. The FCP publicly appealed for roughly 12 million Comorian francs to help fund the squad's trip to the 2024 World Championships in Dijon, France, but the delegation's visa applications were ultimately refused by French authorities, and Comoros did not compete in Dijon despite having qualified.

African Championship: A First-Ever Final

At the continental level, Comoros finished ninth at the 8th African Championship in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (2022). The breakthrough came three years later at the 10th African Championship in Nouakchott, Mauritania (22-28 November 2025), where the Comorian delegation entered all four disciplines - singles, doubles, triples, and precision shooting - across the qualifying and continental-title competitions. In the tête-à-tête (singles) event, Comorian player Zaidou beat Madagascar 13-11 in the semifinal to send Comoros to its first-ever African Championship final in any discipline, before losing the final 13-7 to Côte d'Ivoire's Salif Kourouma, who claimed the singles title.

Federation Contact

The Fédération Comorienne de Pétanque (FCP), a FIPJP member since 1998, is headquartered at B.P. 142, Moroni, Comores, and led by president M'Zé Boina Abdillah (the same president named in the History section above, sourced independently from 2024 press coverage) alongside secretary Fahad Attoumani. The federation can be reached at federationcomoriennepetanque@gmail.com or by phone at +269 335 07 45 / +269 333 19 87; its FIPJP-registered official email is comores@fipjp.com.

Looking Ahead: Hosting the 2027 Indian Ocean Games

Comoros is scheduled to host the Jeux des Îles de l'Océan Indien (Indian Ocean Games, JIOI) in 2027, and pétanque has been confirmed among the roughly 18 disciplines selected for the multi-sport event - a rare opportunity for the archipelago to showcase the game to a home crowd alongside regional rivals Madagascar and Mauritius. Combined with its 2023 world result and 2025 continental final, the Games give Comorian pétanque its highest-profile platform yet as the federation looks to build a deeper competitive base across Ngazidja, Anjouan, and Mohéli.