• #AfricaScores
  • Posts
  • Africa at the World Athletics Championships: Nike’s Grip, On’s Entry, and a Global Stage

Africa at the World Athletics Championships: Nike’s Grip, On’s Entry, and a Global Stage

This week, we dive into the brands behind African athletes in Tokyo at the World Athletics and what the 2027 CWC means for South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

AuthorAuthor

Ndeye Diarra & Sindiswa Mabunda
September 19, 2025

Welcome to #AfricaScores - if you are a new reader, we’re honoured to have made it to your inbox. 

#AfricaScores is a business intelligence platform focused on Africa’s sports industry.

A few announcements: 

  • We’re now officially distributed by AFROBALLERS - the first digital community around sports in Africa. 

  • Our founder, Ndeye Diarra, is on the Limitless Africa podcast. Listen to the episode here and follow the Limitless Africa Podcast !  

JOBS

A nascent industry means opportunities ! We’re gathering some of the jobs posted that we see online while we are fine tuning the design of Africa’s sports industry’s first job board. 

EVENTS

Looking for a place where you can have all of the information you need about events around Africa’s sports industry ? We got you covered. Click here. 

The World Athletics Championships kicked off in Tokyo yesterday. This moment is particular for us at #AfricaScores, as our very first post was published during the Championships in Budapest. With viewership soaring into the tens of millions in the past edition, the World Athletics Championships offer brands and athletes unmatched visibility and cultural resonance. Over 300 African athletes (60% men and 40% women) are in Tokyo to represent their countries across different event: the marathon is the single event with the most African athletes (45), followed by the 800m (22 athletes) and the 3000 steeplechase (21 athletes). Kenya (56 athletes), South Africa (48), and Ethiopia (36) are sending the continent’s largest delegations. Using our brand tracker, we conducted an analysis of the brands sponsoring our African athletes

1. Nike’s dominance

Nike continues its stronghold on African athletics — according to our tracker nearly half of all African athletes in Tokyo are represented by the swoosh. This includes headliners like Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, Côte d’Ivoire’s Marie-Josée Ta Lou, and Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango, cementing Nike’s role as the continent’s most powerful sportswear partner.

2. On’s African bet

Swiss sportswear challenger On is making its move on the continent. After hiring Enda CEO & Founder Navalayo Osembo last January,  the brand recently inked a partnership with the Burundi Athletics Federation, the first significant step to carve a foothold in East Africa’s running culture.

3. Shifting tides & platform power

The World Athletics highlight both continuity and change: Nike’s grip remains firm, but new entrants like On show that Africa’s athletics sponsorship market is ripe for disruption. For African brands, this stage represents a unique opportunity. At the 2023 Budapest edition, broadcasts reached 28 million viewers in the opening weekend alone, with over 400,000 in-stadium fans from 120 countries. This scale of exposure offers African apparel brands a rare chance to position themselves on a truly global platform, tapping into both national pride and international visibility

Sindiswa’s Corner Kick

PLANTING FLAGS

Hi, I'm Sindiswa! I'm excited to carve out this little corner of the newsletter to share what I've been learning, who I've been speaking to, and everything happening in the vibrant world of African sports.

For many Africans, cricket is a sport that feels distant, often overshadowed by football on the continent. That will change in 2027, when South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia come together to host the ICC Cricket World Cup. South Africa will take the lion’s share of matches, Zimbabwe will lean on its historic venues and a new stadium in Victoria Falls, while Namibia, the smallest of the hosts, will enjoy unprecedented visibility.

Cricket may not be Africa’s most popular sport, but the World Cup offers a rare chance to showcase Southern Africa on a global stage and unlock new opportunities in tourism, infrastructure, and investment. Read on here.

A Final Note

SCORE WITH US

#AfricaScores is growing ! We are open to receiving more contributions and provide a platform for African voices of the sports industry. Write to us here: [email protected]

If you are a corporation and would like us to explore an opportunity to collaborate on a knowledge product, please write to us at [email protected]

Until Friday after next,

Understand the business opportunity of sports in Africa. Read #AfricaScores