The date of the AFBC African Championships has been changed days before the event was due to start ©AIBA

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) have announced a late date change for the African Championships, which were due to begin on Saturday (May 27).

Competition had been due to get underway in the Republic of Congo's capital Brazzaville this weekend, but the African Boxing Confederation (AFBC) informed AIBA of a change.

The event has now been pushed back, with action set to take place between June 17 and 25.

It is the sole African qualifying event for the 2017 World Championships in Hamburg.

"The decision was taken by the AFBC in order to ensure that the tournament meets the high standards demanded from such a prestigious competition, one of five direct qualification routes to this year’s AIBA World Championships in Hamburg," an AIBA statement read.

"All of the National Federations involved, the relevant stakeholders and partners have been informed, and AIBA has full confidence in the Local Organising Committee delivering a world-class international event in June."

insidethegames has asked AIBA for more details on why the event was rescheduled.

The date of the competition was initially revealed in March, along with a further four continental qualifiers.

Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent hosted the ASBC Asian Championships from April 30 to May 7.

Following the date change for African event, the AMBC American Championships in Honduras' capital Tegucigalpa will be the next qualifier from June 10 to 18.

The Championships will now take place from June 17 to 25 ©AIBA
The Championships will now take place from June 17 to 25 ©AIBA

The EUBC European Championships will take place in Ukrainian city Kharkiv from June 16 to 24.

The final event is the OCBC Oceanian Championships in Australian city Gold Coast, hosts of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, from June 26 to 29.

AIBA have claimed the events will provide an opportunity for a new generation of boxing talent to break through and establish themselves against more experienced names for the first time in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic cycle.

The 19th edition of the men's AIBA World Boxing Championships are set to be held at Sporthalle Hamburg from August 25 to September 3.

The German city will host the top 280 elite male boxers.

Hamburg was selected to stage the event in October 2015, during AIBA's Executive Committee meeting in Qatar's capital Doha.