THE AFRICAN GAMES
In a feat of unity and camaraderie, African nations came together in July of 1965 in Brazzaville, Congo to compete at the first officially recognized African Games. Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the Olympic Games, had attempted to create some sort of multinational African Games since since the early 1900s, but the events were not open to all African nationalities meeting the qualifications to compete until 1965. Similarly to the Olympics, the African Games, also known as the Pan-African Games and the All-African Games, are held every four years in a different country on the continent. The sporting events are also used to showcase each individual athlete’s abilities for a chance to qualify for the global Olympic Games.
The African Games are organised by the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA). This organization was established after the first African Games to promote the development of sports in each country through campaigns for sports infrastructure in communities and physical education in schools. The SCSA is also a body that encourages “Olympic ideals” so the countries of Africa are well-represented during the worldwide Olympics.
The African Games are structured much like the world Olympic Games, and in the recent 2019 Games, more than 50 nations were represented. There is an opening ceremony to welcome people to the event and to introduce all of the countries that have athletes competing. For about a week following, many different sporting events are held at various arenas and structures throughout the host country. At the end of the week, a closing ceremony commemorates the competitive, but cooperative spirit of the African Games.
Sporting events scheduled in the Games range from volleyball to chess, and table-tennis to boxing. There are a variety of sports, and common competitions like track, swimming, wrestling, and soccer are included as well. Some sports have been added in recent years such as gymnastics in 2015, archery in 2019, and equestrian in 2019 after being left out of the Games for 12 years. Egyptian athletes have received the most medals in recent Games with the 2019 count ending at 273 total medals. Egypt earned a whopping 146 more medals than second place Nigeria. Some events are labelled as Olympic qualifiers so that countries and individuals know they are not only competing within the African Games, but also for a spot on the Olympic team of their country. In the recent 2019 Games held in Rabat, Morocco, 15 events like weightlifting, badminton, cycling, and karate served as Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifiers (which of course was later canceled).
The African Games allow athletes from all over the continent to come together and showcase their skills. They also encourage governments in Africa to make physical activity and sports a priority in developmental efforts, and give African countries a way to come together in unity and cooperation for something as universally adored as sports.
References
All Africa Games. (2020, February 07). Retrieved from
https://inside.fei.org/fei/games/cont-regional/all-africa
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2011, September 14). African Games.
Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/sports/African-Games
Medal Count. (n.d.). Retrieved from
Schedule & Results. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://web.archive.org/web/20191119102410/https://www.jar2019.ma/schedule-results/index.html
Supreme Council for Sport in Africa: UIA Yearbook Profile. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://uia.org/s/or/en/1100017645
Watta, E. (2020, November 07). Things you need to know about the Rabat 2019 African
Games . Retrieved from https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/stories/features/detail/rabat-2019-morocco-african-games-preview/