Zimbabwe at the African Games | |
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IOC code | ZIM |
NOC | Zimbabwe Olympic Committee |
African Games appearances | |
Zimbabwe started competing in the African Games since the 1987 All-Africa Games. Its athletes have won a total of 116 medals.
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. The capital and largest city is Harare and the second largest being Bulawayo. A country of roughly 16 million people, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most commonly used.
The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and the Association of African Sports Confederations (AASC).
Zimbabwe participated for the first time at the Olympic Games under its current name in 1980, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then. Previously, it competed at the Games under the name Rhodesia in 1928, 1960 and 1964. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi marked Zimbabwe's first participation at the Winter Olympic Games, with Oskar Hauser, the Austrian born Zimbabwean, participating in the biathlon.
Sport in Zimbabwe has a long tradition and has produced many world recognized sports names and personalities. Football is the most popular sport, although rugby union, cricket and netball also have a following, traditionally among the white minority. Field hockey is also played widely. Although Zimbabwe has produced many athletes that have competed for Zimbabwe, there are also a large number of athletes who learned their sport in Zimbabwe, but have chosen to represent other countries.
Harare is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 960.6 km2 (371 mi2) and an estimated population of 1,606,000 in 2009, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area in 2006. Situated in north-eastern Zimbabwe in the country's Mashonaland region, Harare is a metropolitan province, which also incorporates the municipalities of Chitungwiza and Epworth. The city sits on a plateau at an elevation of 1,483 metres above sea level and its climate falls into the subtropical highland category.
The Namibia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Welwitschias, are a tier-two nation in the World Rugby tier system, and have participated in five Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999. They are governed by the Namibia Rugby Union.
The Zimbabwe national cricket team is administered by Zimbabwe Cricket. Zimbabwe has been a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1992, but its membership has been partially suspended since 18 July 2019 on grounds of political interference with the sport, preventing the team from participating in ICC competitions, but still permitted to play bilateral and tri-lateral cricket matches against other ICC members.
The Kenya national cricket team represents the Republic of Kenya in international cricket. Kenya is an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) which has Twenty20 International (T20I) status after the ICC granted T20I status to all of their members.
The 1982 ICC Trophy was a limited-overs cricket tournament held in England between 16 June and 10 July 1982. It was the second ICC Trophy tournament to be staged, with matches between the 16 participating teams played over 60 overs a side and with white clothing and red balls. As in the 1979 tournament, all matches were played in the Midlands, though on this occasion the final was held at Grace Road, Leicester, where Zimbabwe who didn't play in the first tournament defeated Bermuda in the final to qualify for the 1983 World Cup. Bad weather hampered the tournament throughout, with a large number of games being called off early or abandoned entirely because of rain; West Africa suffered most, seeing a result in only two of their seven group matches.
Cricket was included in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. This was the only time cricket was played at a Commonwealth Games until a women's tournament was included in the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Matches were played over 50 overs, and had List A status rather than full One Day Internationals. As is normal at the multisports events, the Caribbean islands that entered participated as separate nations, not as the combined West Indies team. Indeed, the Games were the first occasion on which an Antigua and Barbuda side competed at a senior level. Northern Ireland also entered, this occurrence being noteworthy because Irish cricket is usually represented by an all-island Irish cricket team.
The National Sports Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Harare, Zimbabwe, with a maximum capacity of 60,000 people. It is the largest stadium in Zimbabwe. Located in Harare just a Few meters from Heroes Acre. It is used mostly for football matches, but is also used for rugby union. CAPS United F.C. use the venue, which opened in 1987, for most of their home games.
The 6th All-Africa Games were played from 13 to 23 September 1995 in Harare, Zimbabwe. 46 countries participated in eighteen sports.
The 7th All-Africa Games were held from September 10, 1999, to September 19, 1999, in Greater Johannesburg, South Africa. 53 countries participated in eighteen sports. Netball was included as a demonstration sport.
The African Baseball and Softball Association (ABSA), is the governing body of baseball and softball within Africa. As of June 2011, there are 24 members.
The Zimbabwe National Baseball Team is the national baseball team of Zimbabwe. The team represents Zimbabwe in international competitions.
The South Africa national under-23 football team is a youth football (soccer) team, which represents South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. The team's main objectives are to qualify and play at the All-Africa Games and Olympic Games. The team has played at three All-Africa Games and one Olympic tournament. Players who are selected, will be 23 or younger in the following Olympic year. With the next Olympics being held in London in 2012, players need to have been born on or after 1 January 1989. At the Olympic finals tournament, the team may be supplemented with 3 over-age players.
The Namibia national cricket team is the team that represents the Republic of Namibia and is governed by Cricket Namibia, an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1992, and became part of the High Performance Program in 2007. They took part in the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, though they lost all their games. They have played in each edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup.
Takanyi Garanganga is a professional Zimbabwean tennis player. He was born in Mbare, Zimbabwe, a suburb of Harare, and began playing tennis at the age of 8.
Zimbabwe competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's tenth consecutive appearance at the Olympics, after gaining its independence from the former Rhodesia.
The 12th African Games are being held from 19 to 31 August 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. This will be the first time that the African Games will be hosted by Morocco following the country's readmission to the African Union.
Zimbabwe sent six athletes across two different sports to the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016.