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.
in Africa
Association football (also known as soccer) is the most popular sport in almost all African countries. 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.
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African Games
African Beach Games
African Youth Games
African Para Games
All-Africa University Games
African Military Games
Mediterranean Games
Mediterranean Beach Games
African relative lack of success in international sports is due to lack of infrastructure
Arab Games and Championship
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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 Championship
North African Championship - Maghreb Championship
East African Championship
West African Championship
Central African Championship
Southern African Championship
Indian Ocean Island Games
List of African Olympic medalists
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