The long-delayed 2023 African Games kicked off this week, with the official opening ceremony in Ghana’s capital Accra on Friday.
The games, formerly called the Pan African Games, are held every four years, one year before the Olympics. This year, 52 countries are competing, making it a true pan-African sporting event.
Some 5,000 athletes will compete to win medals and break records in 30 disciplines, an increase from the 2019 African Games, which offered 26 sports. The 2015 Games had 22 disciplines.
Events are held in Accra, Cape Coast and Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city.
Table tennis was the first event to begin, with Egypt taking gold in both the men’s and women’s singles, while the soccer competition kicked off on Thursday.
The 13th African Games ends on March 23, 2024.
Which industries are in the competition?
The 30 disciplines include eight Olympic qualifying events, 15 non-qualifying events and seven demonstration sports that showcase emerging trends and disciplines.
The Olympic qualifiers are swimming, athletics, badminton, cycling, tennis, table tennis, wrestling and triathlon.
Demonstration sports include eSports, mixed martial arts, sambo and scrabble, promising what the African Union calls “a glimpse into the future of sports entertainment”.
Which countries are the most successful?
Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa are the most successful countries. All of them have been in the top three gold medal winners in the last six games. One has to go back to 1987, when Egypt, Tunisia and Nigeria won the most gold medals, to find another country in the top three.
How prestigious is the 13th African Games?
Most popular athletes will be absent because the delayed 2023 games are now being held so close to the Paris Olympics in July.
Some disciplines also hold national championships around this time, meaning experienced athletes may stay home to compete in these events.
South Africa, for example, said in a press release that because of this, the 13th African Games “provides the opportunity for a number of younger athletes to gain international experience at the highest level on the continent”.
Also, since the continent’s football teams battled to win the Africa Cup of Nations just last month, few countries have sent a team to the football competition, which has only eight teams.
But Kenya is sending 800m world champion Mary Moraa and Burkina Faso is also sending 2020 Olympic long jump bronze medalist Hugues Fabrice Zango.
Still, says DW reporter Isaac Kaledzi, “the African Games are important for our athletes.
“They will give people the opportunity to showcase their talent and also for some to qualify for the Olympics.”
Why were the games delayed?
The short answer is because of a fight for money and delays in getting the facilities ready.
Traditionally, the African Union (AU) organizes the games. But in 2019, the AU, the Association of African National Olympic Committees (ANOCA) and the Association of African Sports Confederations (AASC) signed an agreement to hold that year’s games as Olympic qualifiers ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
The three organizations then cut off revenue from marketing and ownership of the games.
At the same time, Ghana had delays in completing the facilities.
These factors delayed preparations, so instead of taking place in August 2023, the games were moved to March 2024.
In the same way that the delayed Tokyo Olympics were still billed as the 2020 Olympics despite being held in 2021, the 2023 African Games also retain their name.
Is Ghana now ready to host the event?
Ghana built the new $145 million (€132.5 million) Borteyman Sports Complex. It houses a 1,000-seat Olympic-sized pool, a 10-lane competition pool and an 8-lane warm-up pool.
The representative of the Local Organizing Committee overseeing the preparations for the games, Dan Kwaku Yeboah, is proud of the group.
“We also have two indoor sports halls where the indoor games will be held and they are world class. We have the band [with five tennis courts]which is also ready for international standards.
Ghana also spent $34 million to complete the University of Ghana stadium, which had been under construction for two decades. Athletics, football and rugby are among the sports that take place there.
The government renovated the on-campus accommodation facilities for the athletes’ village to the tune of $16 million.
“The country is ready for the games to start,” Accra-based DW reporter Kalenji said. Kaletzi, who will also report on the games, has already taken a tour of the facilities. “Everything is ready, the facilities look attractive and are up to standard.”
The government also bought about 55 buses and several other vehicles to transport competitors and officials from the game village to the Borteyman Sports Complex, a 30-minute drive away.
“All the venues where the games will be held, the roads to these facilities and the accommodation are in place,” Kalendzi said. “Well, we can say that everything is looking good for the games.”
Eyram Attipoe contributed to this article.
Editor: Chrispin Mwakideu