This article is missing information about traditional African sports.(September 2024) |
Association football (also known as soccer) is the most popular sport in almost all African countries, and in 2010 South Africa became the first African nation to host the FIFA World Cup. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Some African nations, like Kenya and Ethiopia, are very dominant at long distance running, whilst north African countries such Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia are dominant in handball. Rugby and golf are reasonably popular in a few African countries, though rugby is very popular in South Africa. [7] Traditional sports were strictly marginalised during the colonial era, and many are dying or have gone extinct under the pressure of modernisation, however lots remain popular despite not having formal governmental recognition or support. [8] [9] : 193–194
Africa has a long history of indigenous sport. European colonialism from the late nineteenth century onwards brought Western sports to the continent while reducing the practice of local sports, which were seen by Europeans as primitive and anti-Christian. [10]
Sport in Africa before the mid-twentieth century was primarily played by Europeans. This was used to further the division between the social classes of both races. General physical education was implemented within the urban areas of African colonies to "civilize" and improve the productivity of African natives. As the offspring of the European elites and indigenous natives pursued education, they became introduced to the sports that had been previously reserved to the European settlers. There, many of them excelled and became "African Sport Stars" and were revered for their excellent performances. Those athletes would be included in the British and French national teams as there was a potential to their athletic prowess. From then on, the colonized African colonies were represented on the international sports scene. The elite athletes in the Anglophone and Francophone African colonies were called the "noble savages." They often were children of Senegalese tirailleurs or military men.
After World War II, and the reconstruction era of European borders, Britain and France found it difficult to keep their colonies, especially with growing nationalism. After the League of Nations was created, Britain and France committed to the principles of good government, which stated the people have a right to determine their own form of government. Preceding the end of World War II, Africa took initiative to become independent of the neocolonial guardianship created by Britain and France. The internationalization of African sport depended heavily on the decolonization movements, alongside the integration into the Olympics. Africa utilized sports as a way to fight against apartheid and end racial discrimination by social status. As the "noble savages" gained popularity, African elites seized this opportunity to not only fight apartheid and develop African sports, but to also carve an image of a new independent Africa.
In 1956, football boomed in Africa with the establishment of the Confederation of African Football. Pan-Africanism was expressed through sports, but were conditioned by Western sporting federations like FIFA. Nevertheless, in the 1960 Rome Olympics, black African sportsmen were very successful in their respective fields, even scoring high places at the end of the competition. Sports furthered Africa's quest for independence, and today Africa is renowned in many sports, especially in soccer. [6] [7]
African relative lack of success in international sports is due to lack of infrastructure. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]
1st Edition of the East African Community Games (EACoG) (2018). [21]
Association football (also known as soccer) is the most popular sport in every African country. African club teams compete in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup. African national teams compete in the Africa Cup of Nations and also in the African Nations Championship for local teams.
Basketball is also popular throughout the continent, with notable results in Nigeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Angola, recently too in Cape Verde and South Sudan. [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30]
The Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon (2x times NBA Champion with Houston Rockets) is one of the best foreign players in the NBA's history and considered fundamental in developing and popularizing Basketball in Africa.
Cricket is a popular summer sport in the United Kingdom and has been exported to other parts of the former British Empire. [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] Cricket has its origins in south east Britain. It is popular throughout England and Wales, and parts of the Netherlands, and in other world areas, especially in southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Indian subcontinent. It is played to test cricket level in South Africa and Zimbabwe, with notable results in Kenya and Namibia.
Field Hockey is popular throughout the former regions of the British Empire in Africa, with notable results in Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and especially South Africa.
Ice hockey is a minority sport in Africa, in which only a handful of African countries participate. [37] [38] [39] [40]
Rugby union is very popular in South Africa (4x times World Champions in 1995, 2007, 2019 & 2023) and other countries have notable results such as Morocco, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast. [41] [42] [43] The major competition in the continent is the Africa Cup that contains the teams in the first level of African rugby, and African Development Trophy contains the teams in the second level. Only the South Africa rugby team compete in the intercontinental tournament, The Rugby Championship. Albert Grundlingh’s article discusses the affects that a sport had on nationalism, specifically how rugby shaped the Afrikaner identity to some extent. The university of Stellenbosch was described as the “mecca” for south African rugby was a counter to English speaking universities by illuminating “the root of Afrikandom”. [44]
Handball and volleyball are popular especially in North Africa, Other team sports like water polo, roller hockey and netball are also popular in some Eastern and Southern countries from Africa.
Individual sports are also very important. Africa has a major multisports competition called All-Africa Games that started in 1965 held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
Athletics is one of the major single competitions in Africa. The discipline has been part of the African Games since 1965. The African Athletics Championships has been held biannually since 1979. The African Cross Country Championships was first held in 1985 and later since 2011. The African Mountain Running Championships has been held since 2009.
In addition, several editions of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships have been held in Africa. The Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athlétisme de Rabat has been held at Morocco since 2008 as part of the IAAF World Challenge and the IAAF Diamond League. Previously, the Meeting Grand Prix IAAF de Dakar was part of the IAAF Grand Prix and IAAF World Challenge. The Cape Town Marathon became an IAAF Silver Label event in 2014 and an IAAF Gold Label event in 2017.
Kenya and Ethiopia have been dominant in athletics at the Summer Olympics since the 1960s, especially in mid-distance and long-distance running.
The UCI Africa Tour road cycling competition has been held since 2005.
The Dimension Data, formerly MTN–Qhubeka, was the first African team to enter the Grand Tours in 2015. Notable team members include Jacques Janse van Rensburg and Youcef Reguigui.
Kenya and Rwanda are rising forces in world cycling. [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51]
Golf is a minority sport in Africa. [52] The Sunshine Tour is based in South Africa but also visits other neighbour countries. Several tournaments have been co-sanctioned by the European Tour, such as the South African Open, South African PGA Championship, Alfred Dunhill Championship, Nedbank Golf Challenge, Africa Open, Joburg Open, Tshwane Open,
Notable African golfers include Bobby Locke, winner of The British Open four times in 1949, 1950, 1952 and 1957; Gary Player, winner of the British Open in 1959, 1968 and 1974, The Masters in 1961, 1974 and 1978, the PGA Championship in 1962 and 1972 and the U.S Open in 1965; Ernie Els, winner of the 1994, 1997 U.S. Open and 2002 British Open; Nick Price, winner of the 1992 and 1994 PGA Championship and 1994 British Open; Retief Goosen; Trevor Immelman; Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.
Motorsport is popular in South Africa. The country has hosted several international races, such as the South African Grand Prix (Formula One), South African motorcycle Grand Prix (Grand Prix motorcycle racing), etc. The Moroccan Grand Prix was the first Grand Prix from Africa to host the Formula 1 in 1958.
Jody Scheckter is the only Auto driver from Africa to win the Formula 1 in 1979. In Motos, South Africa had/has notable riders such as Kork Ballington, Jon Ekerold, and currently, Brad Binder.
Tennis is minority sport in Africa. [53] [54] [55] [56] [57]
Water sports are popular in coastal countries, along the shores of Great Lakes and rivers. Rafting, [58] paddling, kayaking are growing types in Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda and Uganda. It can be enjoyed both as a sport and a form of active tourism, designed for groups of different numbers of participants and levels of training.
There are also major martial arts and combat sport competitions in the continent.
Louis Phal was the first African world boxing champion. It would another 4 decades for another boxing world champion in the form of Richard Ihetu. Meanwhile, there was little administrative framework for professional boxing in Africa until 1973, when representatives of nine African nations created the African Boxing Union. On October 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman fought for a heavyweight title in Zaire which became known as Rumble in the Jungle.
Africa has produced many world champions, with Azumah Nelson the most well known. [59] [60] [61] [62] [63] [64] [65] [66]
Africa has yet to produce a winner in world judo. [67] African Judo Championships is the most important judo event in Africa.
Karate was first introduced in Africa in the 1960s. [68] [69] [70] The Union of African Karate Federation is in charge of karate in Africa.
Notable African mixed martial artists include UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, and UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Extreme Fighting Championship (formerly known as EFC Africa) is a South African promotion founded in 2009. [71] [72] It is the number one mixed martial arts organisation in the African continent. [73]
EFC Africa 19, which was held at Carnival City in Johannesburg on 19 April 2013, topped other African sports ratings with a record of over 1.8 million views with 31.3% of the total South African TV audience (SABC, e.tv and DStv combined). These are the biggest ratings in EFC history, topping EFC Africa 12's record of 1.6 million views and 25.9% audience share. [74] EFC 85 has been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taekwondo is growing as more people compete in the Olympics. [75] [76] [77] Africa is emerging as a powerhouse in Taekwondo. [78] [79] Taekwondo is run by the African Taekwondo Union.
Many people of the African diaspora represent African nations at the Winter Olympics. [80]
South Africa has hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup, 2003 Cricket World Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup. [81] [82] Africa has hosted six editions of the Pan Arab Games and five editions of the Mediterranean Games. Durban, South Africa was announced as host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in 2015, but they were denied as hosts in 2017.
Notable continental tournaments are the African Games, Africa Cup of Nations, CAF Champions League, African Championships in Athletics, African Rally Championship and Sunshine Tour.
South Korea has traditional sports of its own, as well as sports from different cultures and countries.
SuperSport is a prominent sports broadcaster with a rich history of international operations. Originally, it extended its reach beyond Africa, operating in various European regions, including Scandinavia, Benelux, Italy, Eastern Europe, Greece, and Cyprus. These operations were initially launched by FilmNet and later came under the ownership of MultiChoice. However, these channels have since been replaced. SuperSport also operated in Thailand under the name True Sport and had a presence in Egypt and the Middle East through partnerships with the Cable Network of Egypt (CNE) and the Arab Radio and Television Network.
Sport in Pakistan is a significant part of Pakistani culture. Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan. Football has also gained popularity in recent years, and is the second most popular sport in the country. Field hockey is the national sport, and was popular for several decades, with some of Pakistan's greatest sporting accomplishments having taken place in this sport, along with squash. Polo and traditional sports like kabaddi and other well-known games are also played.
Sport has a significant role in South African culture. The three most popular mainstream sports in the country — cricket, football and rugby — reflect the country's early British colonial influence. South Africa was absent from international sport for much of the apartheid era due to sanctions, but started competing globally after the end of apartheid. South Africa is among a very few countries which have participated in world cups of all three major sports — cricket, soccer, and rugby union. England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia are among other such nations. South Africa has hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup, 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup and 2007 ICC World Twenty20, and 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Sport in Europe tends to be highly organized with many sports having professional leagues. The origins of many of the world's most popular sports today lie in the codification of many traditional games, especially in the United Kingdom. However, a paradoxical feature of European sport is the extent to which local, regional and national variations continue to exist, and even in some instances to predominate.
The principal sports in Namibia are football, rugby union, cricket, golf and fishing. Boxing and athletics are also popular. The home stadium for all national teams is Independence Stadium in Windhoek, while Sam Nujoma Stadium in Katutura is also occasionally used.
Association football and basketball are the most popular sports in Asia. Cricket is the third most popular sport in Asia, and is most popular in South Asia. Other popular sports in Asia include baseball, badminton and table tennis among others. There are also some traditional sports that are popular in certain regions of Asia, such as the South Asian sports kabaddi and kho-kho, and sepak takraw in Southeast Asia. Top sporting nations/regions in Asia include China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Sports in Morocco refers to the sports played in the Kingdom of Morocco. As of 2007, Moroccan society participated in many sports, including handball, football, golf, tennis, basketball, and athletics. Hicham El Guerrouj, a retired middle distance runner for Morocco, won two gold medals for Morocco at the Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Sport in Afghanistan is managed by the General Directorate of Olympics, Physical Education and Sports, currently headed by Ahmadullah Wasiq. Currently, cricket and association football (soccer) are the most popular sports in Afghanistan. The Afghan Sports Federation has promoted many types of sports, including basketball, bodybuilding, boxing, bowling, cricket, football, golf, mountaineering, paragliding, skating, skiing, snooker, taekwondo, track and field, volleyball, and weightlifting. The traditional sport of Afghanistan has been Buzkashi, which is now occasionally seen in the northern parts of the country.
Sport is an important element of Kenyan culture. Various indigenous traditional sports have prevailed in Kenyan culture from its earliest history. Some of the traditional games and sports prevalent in Kenya since antiquity have included wrestling, racing exercises, stick fights, hunting, board games, bull fights and dances.
The most popular sports in Jamaica are mostly imported from Britain. The most popular sports are athletics, cricket and association football; other popular sports include basketball, Tennis and netball.
In 2010 there was no obvious, primary athletics championship, as neither the Summer Olympics nor the World Championships in Athletics occurred in the year. The foremost championships to be held in 2010 included: the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships, 2010 European Athletics Championships, 2010 African Championships in Athletics, and Athletics at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Sports in Chile are performed at both amateur and professional levels, practiced both at home and abroad to develop and improve, or simply represent the country. Association football is the most popular sport in Chile, and is played for a range of reasons. However, the country's most successful sport is tennis. In rural areas, Chilean rodeo is the most practiced sport in Chile, which is the national sport. Chile has achieved great international success in other sports, and there have been important figures, however, such exploits are not known to the general population because they are not sports that have been popular throughout the country.
Sport in Oceania varies from country to country. The most popular playing sport for men in Australia is Australian rules football, while for women is netball. Australian rules football is the most popular sport in terms of spectatorship and television ratings. Rugby union is the most popular sport among New Zealanders, while in Papua New Guinea rugby league is the most popular. Cricket is another popular sport throughout the Oceania region.
Sport in Bangladesh is a popular form of entertainment as well as an essential part of Bangladeshi culture. Cricket is the most popular sport in Bangladesh followed by football. Kabaddi is the national sport of Bangladesh.
The Africa Military Games was a multi-sport event for military athletes in Africa. The one-off event was held under the auspices of the International Military Sports Council (CISM) and, its sister group, the Organization of Military Sport in Africa (OSMA). The games was hosted by Kenya in and around Nairobi between 17 and 27 April 2002.
Kenya competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's fourteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics.
George Kiprotich "Kip" Rono is a Kenyan former steeplechase runner. He won a gold medal in the event at the 1979 African Championships in Athletics and was the first African steeplechase winner at the 1979 IAAF World Cup.
Sports in Botswana is diverse and reasonably well-developed. Though football, netball and athletics remain the most popular sports, numerous other sporting codes, including cricket, rugby, judo, swimming and tennis are active in the national sporting landscape. The Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC), together with the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) and Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture (MYSC) are responsible for the overall management of sport in the country. In addition, there over 30 National Sport Federations (NSFs) and three school sport federations
Kenya competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's fifteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1956, having boycotted the 1976 Montreal and 1980 Moscow Games.