"I think we could be about two or three years away from it" - Devon Petersen gives insight on plans for possible World Series of Darts event in Africa

Darts in Africa is growing with the sport becoming more popular and widespread over numerous countries. A large part of that is due to the work of Devon Petersen who hinted that a World Series of Darts event on the continent could occur in the coming years.

Once the most prominent African darting force, the former European Championship semi-finalist had a tour card between 2015 and 2023, winning a Euro Tour event while reaching the final of a Players Championship tournament.

His biggest priority since stepping down from the tour has been to spread the darts fever through Africa, and the results are paying off. Some significant results on the big stage is headlined by David Munyua's epic comeback against Mike De Decker in a tremendous first round match at the PDC World Darts Championship.

The upcoming World Cup of Darts will see a brace of African nations take to the stage. Uganda debut with Patrick Ocheng and Juma Said while Petersen makes his return to the big stage with Graham Filby partnering him.

With new World Series events cropping up in Bahrain, Poland and most recently Saudi Arabia, the PDC continue to expand their range with eight of the best players in the world challenging eight national representatives getting a platform to play on.

Petersen was hopeful that this dream can become reality in the next few years. “I feel as though it’s not long now," he told the Weekly Dartscast. “I think that discussions are happening behind the scenes. I’ll tell you that."

There is one problem: finding space to host it on what is already a jam-packed calendar. “The challenge is the popularity of the sport and the compact calendar that currently exists. So, we would have to squeeze in somewhere, and we would have to lose out. So, we’d have to make a real case for it."

As for where to host it, the 40-year-old was hopeful that his home country could be a fruitful destination. “Areas that could host events like this, I think that South Africa, obviously my hometown, they are begging for it," he said.

“I do think that Kenya as well, a big part are playing it. Egypt as well. Egypt are hosting the World Darts Federation World Cup in 2027. So, we know that they can stage major events. It’s nice for everybody to travel in and around Europe, as well as West Asia, which is Saudi and all of those areas, and then obviously also Africa as well. So yeah, I think that there’s multiple countries sticking up their hand, and I think the popularity of the sport helps that.”

There is a lot of work going into it, but he may need his most persuasive manner to get the PDC on board. “For me itself, it’s just building a proposal strong enough for the PDC to even consider," he acknowledged.

“We are actually having the conversations, but I think that the numbers currently now for the sport are astronomical, which is fantastic for players and the sport itself. Hosting it is a small bit of a challenge, but I think we could be about two or three years away from it.

“And it will be fantastic because then Africa will be welcoming the world’s best to see some of Africa’s best and compete. Who knows? We could be lifting trophies anyway.”