Algeria and South Africa are among the minnows of the BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2026. Unlike the powerhouses who compete for the title, the lower-profile teams must calibrate their targets differently.

With South Africa and Algeria being the sole African representatives, the players know they carry the hopes of a continent.

“We know that we are not at the top world level,” said Algeria’s Koceila Mammeri. “So just maybe looking in the future, if we inspire young players in Algeria and Africa, maybe Africa can be better in the future, on the world stage.”

Or, as South African singles spearhead Johanita Scholtz says: “You’re playing for yourself, you’re playing for your team, you’re playing for your country, but obviously you’re playing also for your continent, representing many other countries that we beat, but also try to represent the continent, so representing everyone currently at this stage, and we feel very honoured to be part of that journey honestly. We’re representing all the women in our continent, and (Algeria) representing the men, and that’s kind of nice, because all the teams we’ve played, they were part of our journey of actually becoming better, to qualify, and then representing them.”

South Africa’s presence in Horsens will mark their first participation at the Uber Cup in 14 years.

“It means a lot to us, especially because it’s the first time in 14 years,” said Scholtz. “It’s a new team. And obviously we gave our all at the qualifiers, so knowing that we actually reached that goal made it a lot more sweet.”

South Africa did win the qualifying continental event in 2022 too, but the team wasn’t sent to the Uber Cup. The championships in Horsens will be the first time any player in the team competes at the World Women’s Team Championships, and that is cause for celebration for Scholtz and her teammates.

Algeria’s men are more familiar faces in the Thomas Cup, for it’s their fifth straight time. For Mammeri, Algeria’s record-holder at the African Championships with 16 titles, participation was about opportunity.

“It’s more like a reward and an opportunity to play against the best players, the best teams,” said Mammeri. “We know that we have no chance, but it’s more about gaining experience, growing as a team, because we don’t play team events often.”

Both South Africa and Algeria have their tasks cut out. South Africa play Japan, Malaysia and Turkiye in Group B, while Algeria face a formidable challenge against Indonesia, France and Thailand in Thomas Cup Group D.

For Scholtz, the opportunity of playing renowned opponents outweighs any apprehensions.

“We were very excited when we heard we’re playing those teams, especially because a lot of the players are role models we look up to,” said Scholtz. “For us, it’s an honour to actually play better players, and especially the top players. So we have this mindset of just giving it our all, focusing on what our goal is as a team, and see how far we can actually push our goal.

“We are definitely going in with the mindset of trying to get points as far as possible. And yes, there are weaker teams, but we don’t see it like that. Even playing Japan, we don’t think definitely we are going to lose. We’re going to go on and see how far we can push it. So playing Turkey, playing Malaysia, playing Japan, all those teams, we have the same mindset of, can we take a set, or can we get a point from this team? Not just going and playing, but seeing how far we can get with each.”

Mammeri believes the Thomas Cup provides the stage for testing his and his compatriots’ abilities against the very best.

“We already played Indonesia and Thailand in the past. Also France. We are happy to play strong teams. For us, no matter the draw, it will be hard, so we are okay with that, and we just hope to enjoy the matches.”