Why Africa's traditional sports deserve an Olympic stage

By

Charles Mgbolu

An unmistakable aspect of the modern Olympics has been the dominance of black athletes throughout history, irrespective of the countries and sports they represent.

As another edition of the Summer Games gets underway on July 26 in the pretty surroundings of Paris, it's Africa's time to shine again — this time, beyond the obvious.

The 2024 Olympic Games promises to be a spectacle of many firsts, including new events in which Africa as a continent could have its moment under the sun.

This edition, marking the return of the Games to France after 100 years, will feature 10,500 athletes competing in 329 medal events across 32 sports over 19 days.

The athletes' parade will be held outside an Olympic stadium for the first time, and delegations are expected to travel on the Seine in boats.

Paris 2024 will also be the first Olympics in history to have an equal number of male and female athletes.

The most significant first that has grabbed major headlines since its announcement in 2020 is Breaking, an urban dance style from New York that will debut as an Olympic sport.

Bigger stage, more medals

Coaches and commentators alike are convinced that Africa's combined medal tally can soar with participation in more events, especially in traditional sports.

Kenya, the highest-ranking African country, won 10 medals at the last Olympics in Tokyo, compared to the 113 that the United States contingent fetched.

"This is the right moment to stare at ourselves as Africans and ask, 'Why are we not improving our chances at the Olympics by working to have indigenous sports included?" Olympic swimming coach Christopher Ezemegwalu tells TRT Afrika.

Nigerian track and field coach Balogun Olanrewaju echoes him.

"Africa always presents a large contingent at every Olympics. It is only befitting that we have our identity as Africans etched perpetually in the Games, not just as medal winners but as the originators of some of the sports," he says.

The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo introduced four new sports originating in different countries: karate with Chinese antecedents, skateboarding from the US, sport climbing from France, and surfing from Hawaii.

The Los Angeles edition in 2028 will add baseball (North America), T20 cricket (UK), flag football (US), lacrosse (Native America), and squash (UK) to the list.

Home to traditional sports

Africa is a cradle for several prominent indigenous games that have gained a following worldwide.

Dambe is a generations-old style of boxing originally practised by the Hausa people of northern Nigeria. Dambe Warriors, a YouTube channel, now has over 196,000 subscribers, 801 videos, and two million views across all social media platforms.

Another example is Senegal's Laamb, a traditional folk wrestling sport featured in a 2008 documentary starring American and British fighters.

In Kenya, the Maasai Olympics have converted traditional sporting practices into full-on games, such as the Adumu Maasai jump dance, now an official sport, and the rungu, similar to the javelin in Olympic sports.

Olanrewaju recommends promoting African traditional sports worldwide before campaigning for inclusion in Olympic disciplines.

"We cannot champion the cause of our traditional sports if we do not properly structure them, create standard rules, and spread their popularity beyond African borders," Olanrewaju tells TRT Afrika.

The IOC Sports Programme reinforces his concerns, stating in its charter that games proposed for inclusion in any edition of the Olympics must be widely practised by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents and women in at least 40 countries and on three continents.

The IOC adds that proposed games must have a recognised international standing numerically and geographically and must have been included at least twice in world or continental championships.

Domestic-promotion strategy

"If we do not promote the idea of our local games among ourselves as African nations, how can we sell these traditional games to the world?" wonders Olanrewaju.

"We must engage in developmental sports by introducing these sports in primary and secondary schools and exporting these sports to sister African countries if we are serious about having our African identity etched in Olympic categories.’"

Fellow coach Ezemegwalu notes that Africa must be ready to invest in developing these sports to have a home advantage over Western athletes should traditional African events ever be adopted by the IOC.

"We must learn as a continent to take the business of sports seriously. We will lose the advantage if we do not take the lead in developing the craft efficiently first on African soil because once it is made an Olympic sport, western countries will jump on board, research, and train athletes who will compete effectively," he says.

Ghanaian sports journalist Victor Adjei believes that the argument for adopting traditional African sports can be successfully made once the required criteria are met.

"Different swimming strokes, as we know them, were once traditional sports in different countries."

Morris Momo, president of a Liberian surf club, says Africa must work to increase the number of events it features in at the Olympics to improve the continent's medal tally.

"We have immense surfing talent here in Liberia. We have beautiful beaches. But we cannot think of the Olympics now because we don't have proper surfing boards or professional trainers to help us. We must nurture future contenders representing our nations and the continent," he says.

Ezemegwalu recommends adopting the Western model of focusing on the grassroots.

"We need to establish sports development centres in every locality. This is about nurturing and empowering a new generation," he tells TRT Afrika.

As the Olympic flame burns bright in Paris, Africa aims to ignite its aspirations by building on what already exists — talent, tradition and a natural-born instinct to win.

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