History of African Games

Background

The African Games formally known as All-African Games are continental multi-disciplinary pan-African sports event held every four years exclusively owned by the African Union on behalf of its Members States. The Games have a long history that is linked to various Games such as Community Games and later Friendship Games that were held in 1963 in Dakar, Senegal, where twenty-four (24) independent African States participated in track-and-field events that included women.

1. The creation of the African Games

A General Assembly of African Ministers of Youth and Sport, convened in Dakar, Senegal around the time of the Friendship Games in April 1963 and discussed the organization of pan-African Games that would include all independent African countries. The Assembly instructed the Republic of Congo to examine the Friendship Games, build on them to come up with rules that would govern the Games that were going to be held in Congo, Brazzaville in 1965. This was followed by a preparatory meeting in Brazzaville from 24 to 29 February 1964 that adopted a framework for the organization of the first All-African Games, organized by Africans, for Africans in July 1965 in Congo, Brazzaville.

The successful hosting of the first All-African Games in 1965 was followed by the establishment of a pan-Africanist sports institution called the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa (SCSA) in 1966 by the Ministers of Sports of African countries. The SCSA had its headquarters in Yaoundé, Cameroon with the responsibility of coordinating the organization of the All-African Games, promoting developing and coordinating all sports on the continent. In 1967, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), recognized SCSA as the official organization responsible for coordinating sports on the continent.

In July 2013 SCSA was dissolved by its General Assembly in Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire and all functions, liabilities and assets were transferred to African Union Commission. The Twenty-Sixth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union, Heads of States and Governments adopted the Statutes of the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) on 31 January 2016, leading to the establishment of the African Union Sports Council Secretariat whose headquarters is in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The purpose of AUSC is to act as a forum for concerted action between Member States for the promotion of sports development, development through sports and coordination of African Games.

2. Organization of the African Games

The African Games were established for the purposes of promoting high performance African sports and enhancing sporting and cultural exchanges between African Union Member States. The Games are a multi-disciplinary sport competition established under the ownership and patronage of the African Union. The Games are an exclusive property of the African Union that holds all rights relating to their organization, exploitation, broadcast and reproduction by any means whatsoever.

The African Games are organized once, every four (4) years and (1) one year before the Olympic Games. They are organized in line with the rules and regulations adopted by the African Union Specialized Technical Committee for Youth, Culture and Sports (STC-YCS). The African Union Sport Council Technical Committee for the African Games is given the mandate to propose an objective criterion for evaluating the bidding files for the host countries and overseeing the management and organization of the Games by the Local Organizing Committee.

3. African Games Editions

3.1 The first edition of the All-African Games was held in Brazzaville from 18 to 25 July 1965.

This first edition of the Games witnessed the participation of thirty (30) countries in ten (10) following sports disciplines: Athletics, Basketball, Football, Tennis, Weightlifting, Cycling, Swimming, Handball, Volleyball and Wrestling.

3.2 The second edition of the All-African Games was in Lagos from 7 - 18 January 1973

The 2nd edition of the All-African Games was attended by athletes from thirty-six (36) countries who competed in twelve (12) sports disciplines, with the entry of Boxing and Judo.

3.3 The third edition of the All-African Games was in Algiers, 13-28 July 1978

The 3rd Edition of the All-African Games was attended by athletes from thirty-eight (38) countries who competed in twelve (12) sports disciplines

3.4 The fourth edition of the All-African Games was in Nairobi, 1-12 August 1987

The 4th edition of the All-African Games was attended by athletes from forty-one (41) countries who competed in fourteen (14) sports disciplines

3.5 The fifth edition of the All-African Games was in Cairo, 20 September - 1 October 1991

The 5th edition of the All-African Games was attended by athletes from forty-three (43) countries that competed in eighteen (18) sports disciplines.

3.6 The sixth edition of the All-African Games was in Harare, 13-25 September 1995

The 6th edition of the All-African Games was attended by athletes from forty-six (46) countries that competed in nineteen (19) sports disciplines.

3.7 The seventh edition of the All-African Games was in Johannesburg, 10-19 September 1999

The 7th edition of the All-African Games was attended by athletes from fifty-one (51) countries that competed in twenty (20) sports disciplines.

3.8 The eighth edition of the All-African Games was in Abuja, 4-18 July 2003

The 8th edition of the All-African Games was attended by athletes from fifty (50) countries that competed in twenty-two (22) sports disciplines.

3.9 The ninth edition of the All-African Games was in Algiers, 11-23 July 2007

The 9th edition of the All-African Games was attended by athletes from fifty-one (51) countries that competed in twenty-five (25) sports disciplines.

3.10 Tenth edition of the All-African Games was in Maputo, 3-18 September 2011

The 10th edition of the All-African Games was attended by athletes from forty-six (46) countries that competed in twenty (20) sports disciplines.

3.11 The eleventh edition of the African Games was in Brazzaville, from 4 - 19 September 2015

The 11th edition of the African Games was attended by athletes from fifty (50) countries that competed in twenty-three (23) sports disciplines. These were the first Games organized by the African Union Sport Council following the dissolution of SCSA in July 2013 in Abidjan, Cote d‘Ivoire.

3.12 The twelfth edition of the African Games was in Rabat, from 19 – 31 August 2019

The 12th edition of the African Games was attended by athletes from fifty-four (54) countries that competed in twenty-two (22) sports disciplines, Seventh Sports codes were qualifiers for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

3.13 The thirteenth edition of the African Games Accra 2023 from 4th -19 August 2023

The thirteenth edition of the African Games will be held in Accra from 4-19th August 2023, Athletes from African Union Member States will compete in twenty (26) six Sports Codes.