All-Africa Games

All-Africa Games
Games
1965 • 1973 • 1978 • 1987 • 1991 • 1995 • 1999 • 2003 • 2007 • 2011 • 2015
Sports (details)
Athletics • Badminton • Baseball • Basketball • Boxing • Canoeing • Chess • Cycling • Diving • Equestrian • Fencing • Football • Gymnastics • Handball • Hockey • Judo • Karate • Kick-boxing • Netball • Rowing • Sailing • Shooting • Softball • Squash • Swimming • Table tennis • Taekwondo • Tennis • Triathlon • Volleyball • Weightlifting • Wrestling

The All-Africa Games, sometimes called the African Games or the Pan African Games, are a regional multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa. The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) will takeover the organization of the games after a meeting of the African Union (AU) Conference of Sports Ministers recommended the dissolution of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA).[1][2] All of the competing nations are from the African continent.

The first Games were held in 1965 in Brazzaville, Congo. The International Olympic Committee granted official recognition as a continental multi-sport event, along with the Asian Games and Pan American Games.

Since 1999, the Games have also included athletes with a disability.[3]

Contents

History

Modern Olympics founder Pierre de Coubertin conceived the Pan African Games as early as 1920. The colonial powers who ruled Africa at the time were wary of the idea, suspecting the unifying aspect of sport among African people would cause them to assert their independence.

Attempts were made to host the games in Algiers, Algeria in 1925 and Alexandria, Egypt in 1928, but despite considerable preparations taken by coordinators, the efforts failed. The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) first African member, Greek-born Egyptian sprinter Angelo Bolanaki, donated funds to erect a stadium, but still the Games were set back for another three decades.

In the early 60's, French-speaking countries of Africa organized the Friendship Games. The Games were organized by Madagascar (1960) and then Côte d'Ivoire (1961). The third games were set for Senegal in 1963. Before they were completed, African Ministers of Youth and Sport met in Paris in 1962; as a few English-speaking countries were already participating, they rechristened the Games as the Pan African Games. The Games were granted official recognition by the IOC as being on par with other continental Games such as the Asian Games and the Pan American Games.

In July 1965, the first games were held in Brazzaville, Congo, now called the All-Africa Games. From 30 countries, around 2,500 athletes competed. Egypt topped the medal count for the first Games.

In 1966, the SCSA (Supreme Council for Sport in Africa) was organized in Bamako; it manages the All-Africa Games. The second edition were awarded to Mali in 1969, but a military coup forced the cancellation of the Games. Lagos, Nigeria stepped in as host for the Games in 1971. Those Games were finally held in 1973 due to the Biafra War, which had just ended in Nigeria.

In 1977, the 3rd Games were scheduled to take place in Algeria, but due to technical reasons, it had to be postponed for a year and was held in 1978. Continuing the pattern, the next Games were scheduled to take place in Kenya in 1983, but were pushed back to 1985 and finally took place in Nairobi in 1987.

The four-year Olympic rhythm has not missed a beat since, and the Games have been organized in Cairo, Harare, Johannesburg, and Abuja. In 2007, Algiers once again hosted, becoming the first repeat host. The 2011 edition of the All-Africa Games was held in Maputo, Mozambique in September 2011. Brazzaville will host the 2015 edition in honor of the Games' 50th anniversary.

Editions

Year Games Host Dates Nations Athletes Sports Top Country On Medal Table
1965
I
 Brazzaville July 18 – 25
30
2500
10
  United Arab Republic
1969
–
 Bamako Disrupted by Military Coup
1973
II
 Lagos January 7 – 18
36
12
  Egypt
1978
III
 Algiers July 13 – 28
38
12
  Tunisia
1987
IV
 Nairobi August 1 – 12
41
14
  Egypt
1991
V
 Cairo September 20 - October 1
43
18
  Egypt
1995
VI
 Harare September 13 – 23
46
6000
19
  South Africa
1999
VII
 Johannesburg September 10 – 19
51
6000
20
  South Africa
2003
VIII
 Abuja October 5 – 17
50
22
  Nigeria
2007
IX
 Algiers July 11 – 23
52
27
  Egypt
2011
X
 Maputo September 3 – 18
53
5000
20
  South Africa
2015
XI
 Brazzaville Future Event
Host cities of the All-Africa-Games

All-time medal table

The table below gives an overview of the all-time medal count of the All-Africa Games (updated after the 2007 All-Africa Games).

Pos Country Gold Silver Bronze Total Year of
first medal
1  Egypt 431 328 320 1079 1965
2  Nigeria 303 277 256 836 1965
3  South Africa 198 174 137 509 1995
4  Algeria 132 152 189 473 1965
5  Tunisia 123 106 133 362 1965
6  Kenya 90 97 104 291 1965
7  Senegal 40 40 73 153 1965
8  Ghana 26 38 64 128 1965
9  Ethiopia 23 29 34 86 1965
10  Cameroon 20 42 81 143 1965
11  Zimbabwe 18 26 57 101 1987
12  Uganda 17 19 33 69 1965
13  Côte d'Ivoire 17 18 33 68 1965
14  Madagascar 10 15 33 58 1965
15  Morocco 9 12 15 36 1973
16  Angola 9 7 17 33 1987
17  Lesotho 8 3 8 19 1991
18  Mauritius 6 19 27 52 1987
19  Libya 6 8 16 30 1978
20  Namibia 4 10 15 29 1991
21  Tanzania 4 8 10 22 1965
22  Zambia 4 4 22 30 1965
23  Mali 4 4 7 16 1965
24  Gabon 4 4 19 27 1965
25  Botswana 4 4 10 18 1991
26  Mozambique 4 2 1 7 1987
27  Eritrea 3 1 2 6 2007
28  Sudan 3 1 3 7 1973
29  Democratic Republic of the Congo 2 3 6 11 1965
30  Republic of the Congo 1 7 15 23 1965
31  Central African Republic 1 2 2 5 1991
32  Guinea 1 2 1 4 1973
 Sierra Leone 1 2 1 4 1991
33  Swaziland 1 0 9 10 1973
34  Chad 1 0 9 10 1965
35  Cape Verde 1 0 2 3 1999
36  Burundi 1 0 1 2 1987
37  Somalia 1 0 0 1 1973
38  Seychelles 0 13 18 31 1987
39  Burkina Faso 0 3 7 10 1965
40  Togo 0 2 10 12 1965
41  Niger 0 2 6 8 1965
42  Benin 0 2 3 5 1973
43  Gambia 0 2 0 2 1973
44  Rwanda 0 2 0 2 1987
45  São Tomé and Príncipe 0 1 1 2 2003
46  Malawi 0 0 2 2 1987
47  Guinea-Bissau 0 0 1 1 1999

Sports

32 sports were presented in All-Africa Games history.

Sport Years
Athletics since 1965
Badminton since 2003
Baseball since 1999-2003
Basketball since 1965
Boxing since 1965
Canoeing since 2011
Chess since 2003
Cycling since 1965
Diving since ....
Equestrian since 2007
Fencing since ....
Football since 1965
Gymnastics since 1991
Handball since 1965
Hockey since 1987-2003
Judo since 1973
Sport Years
Karate since 1991
Kick-boxing since ....
Netball since ....
Rowing since 2007
Sailing since ....
Shooting since 1991
Softball since ....
Squash since 2003
Swimming since 1965
Table tennis since 1978
Taekwondo since 1987
Tennis since 1965
Triathlon since 2011
Volleyball since 1965
Weightlifting since 1965
Wrestling since 1965-1973, since 1987

Influence

After hearing about the Pan-African Games whilst on a business trip to Congo, Soviet Union-Armenian diplomat Ashot Melik-Shahnazaryan got the idea to create the Pan-Armenian Games.

See also

References

  1. ^ 27/10/2011 The All Africa Games shall henceforth be organized by ANOCA and the AASC, CONFEDERATION OF AFRICAN ATHLETICS (CAA)
  2. ^ All Africa Games: Popoola hails SCSA dissolution, www.vanguardngr.com
  3. ^ 9th All African Games Underway in Algeria, International Paralympic Committee (IPC)

External links

Sports at the All-Africa Games
All-Africa Games
African Youth Games
  • Rabat 2010
Inter-continental Games
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