Sports in Africa

Africa in the Olympics

100

This country ranked 15th overall in the medal table for the 2016 Rio Olympics. This country ranked the highest out of all the African countries that competed.

What is Kenya?

200

This is the only African country that received its first gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

What is the Ivory Coast?

300

This person was the first black African to win a gold medal.

What is Abebe Bikila?

400

The year that South Africa received its first Summer Olympic medal.

What is 1908?

500

The year that Ethiopia ranked it's highest, 17th overall, in the Summer Olympics.

What is 1980?

Common Sports Played in Africa

100

This sport is played by two teams of five players in a court. Players earn points by shooting a ball into a hoop for 2 or 3 points. Whichever team scores the most points by the end of the game wins. This sport is very popular on the African continent.

What is basketball?

200

This is a team sport in which two teams of six players, separated by a net, tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team’s court. A rally begins when one team serves the ball to the other team. The other team has to hit the ball over the net with a maximum of three hits, and a player can’t hit the ball twice in a row. A team is rewarded a point when the ball is grounded on the other team’s court. This sport can be played indoor or on the beach. This sport is popular in North Africa.

What is volleyball?

300

This sport includes a variety of different competitions. Some examples are running, hurdles, high jump, long jump, and shotput. A person wins if they’ve ran the fastest, jumped the farthest of highest, or thrown the farthest. This is one of the oldest sports and is a major competition in Africa.

What is track and field?

400

This sport is a combat sport where two fighters wearing protective, rubber gloves throw punches at each other for a set period of time in rounds. When a fighter is said to be incapable of fighting anymore by a referee, the other fighter wins the round, the judges decide the winner. Africa has produced many world champions in this sport.

What is boxing?

500

This sport is a race of people on bicycles, whose goal is to reach the finish line first. Today, this is a major sport in the U.K., Belgium, France, Italy, and Spain. The most famous race for this sport is the Tour de France. Kenya and Rwanda are rising forces in the world of this sport.

What is cycling?

Famous African Athletes

100

This athlete was born in 1958 in Accra, Ghana. He is a former professional boxer, and is considered the best African boxer of all time. He won the WBC featherweight title once and the WBC super featherweight title twice.

Who is Azumah Nelson?

200

This athlete was born in 1973 in Ethiopia. He is a retired long-distance runner and has won 10 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 3 bronze medals in his lifetime. He won the Berlin Marathon in 2008 with a world record time of 2:03:59.

Who is Haile Gebrselassie?

300

This athlete was born in 1978 in the Ivory Coast. He was the top-scorer and captain for the Ivory Coast national football team, but now plays for the Chelsea Football Club as a striker. He was named African Footballer of the Year twice.

Who is Didier Drogba?

400

This athlete was an Ethiopian double Olympic marathon champion. He won a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics while running barefoot. He set a new world record for the marathon, and then set a new world record 4 years later at the 1964 Summer Olympics. He also won gold that Summer Olympics.

Who is Abebe Bikila

500

This athlete was born in 1967 in South Africa. He is a retired flanker for the South African rugby union. He is most known for leading his team to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. During the World Cup, he lead his team to victory over the reigning champions Australia and played extra-time even with a calf strain. This athlete was portrayed by Matt Damon in the movie ‘Invictus’, which is about the story of the 1995 World Cup.

Who is Francois Pienaar?

Football (Soccer) in Africa

100

This nation was the first African nation to host the World Cup.

What is South Africa?

200

This nation introduced football to the Africans in the late 19th century.

What is Europe?

300

In 1934, this nation was the first African nation to compete in the FIFA World Cup.

What is Egypt?

400

The Confederation of African Football was founded in 1957 with these four member nations.

What is Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Sudan?

500

This club is the oldest African football club that remains in existence.

What is Cape Coast Excelsior?

Odd Sports and Games Played in Africa

100

This sport is consisted of people racing camels by using remote controlled robotic whips. In the past, camels were controlled by child jockeys, but now many countries have switched to the robotic whips due to nationwide bans of underage labor. This sport is a popular tourist attraction and very popular for betting.

What is camel racing?

200

This sport was created in 1954 by Alan Blake. It is played by two teams trying to move a puck along the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team’s goal. Players use a hockey stick to do this.

What is underwater hockey (octopush)?

300

This game is played by players first placing a number of seeds in each of the pits on the gameboard. Then, a player will take a turn by removing the seeds in a pit, “sowing” them, and the capturing them. This is a classification of many different games with similar gameplay rules.

What is mancala?

400

This is a bat-and-ball sport between two teams of eleven people. The batting team tries to score runs while the fielding team tries to limit the batting team’s runs and to dismiss the batter. To win the game you need to score more points that your opponent. The field is a 22 yard long pitch with a wicket on both sides of the field. This sport is very popular in all of the African continent, but is not very popular where we live.

What is cricket?

500

This sport is when people race each other on the backs of ostriches. They ride them just like horses, with saddles and reins, but they are much harder to manage than horses. This sport is very popular in Africa but very unusual to us here in the United States of America.

What is ostrich racing?