2024: Africa’s record-breaking sporting year

By Charles Mgbolu

The thrilling excitement that sporting events bring on the continent was unrelenting in 2024, with old records smashed and new homegrown talents sprinting with ease into sporting history record books.

As the year wraps up, TRT Afrika brings you some key sporting highlights that have made the year remarkable.

AFCON giants

The year started with the thrilling Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign, which kicked off in January.

The competition, which was held in Côte d'Ivoire, after four decades, saw the hosts claim a third Africa Cup of Nations title with a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in the final at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.

It was a triumph born from adversity as the Ivorians scraped out of their group following two defeats, including a humiliating 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea.

Regional winners

The North African region, for their part, recorded major victories, with Egyptian club side Zamalek crowned the 2024 CAF Super Cup champions following a dramatic penalty shootout victory over arch-rivals Al Ahly after regular playtime ended with a 1-1 draw.

Egyptian giants Al Ahly also won a record-extending 12th African Champions League title after beating Esperance 1-0 in the second leg of the final in Cairo.

Olympics and Paralympics

The continent also performed brilliantly in the Paris Olympics, with Africa emerging with a combined total of 35 medals—13 gold, 12 silver, and 14 bronze medals.

A standout performance at the Olympics can be credited to Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who won Africa’s first gold medal in the 200m race and also achieved an African record.

Kenyan athlete Emmanuel Wanyonyi also achieved another remarkable feat as he was the youngest athlete ever to win the Olympics, taking the title at age 20, defeating Canada's Marco Arop, the former world champion.

The Paris 2024 Paralympics was also another pivotal moment for Africa, as the continent achieved a total of 64 medals, one more than the previous tally at Tokyo 2020.

Awards and recognitions

Glitz and glamour were on display at the 2024 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards. Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman was named African Footballer of the Year after his stellar campaign for club and country.

Zambia's Barbra Banda was also named African Women’s Player of the Year.

The event also saw other talented African footballers, such as South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, become the only double winner on the night, collecting the Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year and Men’s Interclub Player of the Year awards.

Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie claimed the Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award for the second year in a row, having had another outstanding season for French side Paris FC, where she was named Première Ligue Goalkeeper of the Season for 2023-24.

Nigeria also had a spectacular glare in the spotlight following the media buzz and glittering loan transfer of striker Victor Osimhen from Napoli to Turkish club giants Galatasaray.

Deaths

Sadly, the year 2024 also recorded some heart-wrenching tragedies.

Kenyan athlete Kipyegon Bett, who won a bronze medal in the 800m at the 2017 World Championships in London, passed away at the age of 26 after a short illness.

Ugandan Olympic marathoner Rebecca Cheptegei also died after a fire attack by her boyfriend outside her home in Eldoret, Kenya.

Fan violence

2024 also saw a number of fan violence incidents that led to fatalities.

At least eight people were killed in a stampede in July at a football stadium in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, during a match between two local teams.

A fight broke out between fans of rivals US Ouakam and Stade de Mbour at the Demba Diop stadium, and police fired tear gas to break it up.

A similar stampede incident also led to the deaths of at least 56 people and several others injured during violence and stampede at a soccer stadium in southeastern Guinea, the government said in December.

Formula One

But then ending the year on a very positive note, as President Paul Kagame of Rwanda announced in December his country would bid to host a Formula One race in the capital, Kigali, in 2025.

The Great Lakes nation has been actively pursuing plans to host an F1 Grand Prix, aiming to return the sport to Africa for the first time since 1993.

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