Lagos will welcome the world’s first all-electric raceboat series on the 4th and 5th October, marking the UIM E1 World Championship’s debut on the African continent. The city joins Monaco, Miami and Doha on the 2025 race calendar in what promises to be a groundbreaking event for electric marine sport and sustainability in Africa.
The vibrant city of Lagos, home to over 21 million residents, is set to host Africa’s first-ever E1 World Championship race this autumn. The event, part of the UIM E1 series presented by PIF, will see the futuristic RaceBirds take flight on the Lagos Lagoon, symbolising a new chapter in clean marine mobility and positioning Nigeria as a global hub for innovation in sustainable sport.
Lagos joins a prestigious line-up of E1 host cities including Monaco, Doha and Miami. As the championship’s footprint expands into a fourth continent, the organisers say Lagos was a natural fit due to its strong focus on technology and its growing eco-conscious initiatives. The city’s coastal infrastructure and entrepreneurial energy made it an ideal venue for Africa’s first E1 race.
Nine teams will compete in the event, each owned by globally recognised figures including Tom Brady, Rafael Nadal, Will Smith, LeBron James and Africa’s own Didier Drogba, who is also a co-owner of Team Drogba. Their shared mission is to advance electric mobility on water while championing environmental restoration of coastal areas through high-performance sport.
The event is backed by a newly appointed African consortium led by the Didier Drogba Foundation, Lilium Capital Group, and the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), the impact investment arm of Afreximbank. Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu hailed the event as a “moment of pride” for the city and a strategic platform to highlight Lagos as a forward-thinking capital for sustainable development.
Didier Drogba called the moment “a dream come true”, adding that the race will not only showcase the city’s beauty and ambition, but also reinforce Africa’s role in pioneering innovation. E1 Chairman Alejandro Agag echoed the sentiment, describing Lagos as “a stunning location with big ambitions”, while CEO Rodi Basso noted the race was a key step in building a global sporting platform that accelerates cleaner technologies on water.
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