Fixing the African sports governance problem, or win trying.

African athletes and teams returned from the Paris Olympics with 39 medals. By order of comparison, Italy brought home 40 medals and has the same population as Kenya - the African country that brought home the most medals. 

We all agree that something needs fixing and there seems to be a general belief that this “something” starts at the helm of our sports ministries and federations. Calls for sports ministers to resign have erupted from several corners of the continent, especially from Nigeria. 

Does Africa have a sports governance problem ? Yes, it does. Yet, it would be incredibly reductive to say that our lack of performance on the global sports stage can be attributed to governance alone or that fixing the governance alone will bring home more medals. It is part of the problem but not the only solution.

Indeed, sports governance is only one component of a general problem : that our countries lack a sports ecosystem. The US sports governing bodies do not rely on their government for funding and yet the US consistently brings home the most medals. Why? Because sports administration and management does not rely on a single (and malfunctioning) entity but rather on a series of stakeholders that can hold each other accountable and depend on one another. 

Certainly, four years is too short a period to hope for every African country to structure a robust, commercially viable and successfully operating sports ecosystem. However, there are at least two building blocks that can be invested in this timeline in hope to yield better results for Los Angeles 2028. 

Increase the private sector involvement

Sports is a business and we need to give up on the notion that government funding alone can do the work. Private sector companies, both local and international, have a significant role to play in supporting the advancement of African sports ecosystems : first, by developing more consistent sports activations in cities and rural areas (ie. marathons, races), secondly by developing the practice of sponsoring sports events and competitions. Beyond their monetary contributions, the processes that the private sector bring to the table can be crucial in supporting the development of capacity within sports federations across the continent. A company like Mchezo, based in Rwanda, has set a great example with the different partnerships and contracts it operates with sports federations and competitions to ensure that the players and clubs are rightfully compensated for their performances. These models are not so complex that they cannot be replicated by other premium brands or in other countries (Mchezo now operates its sponsorship deals in Rwanda, Uganda and Lesotho). Another example that can be replicated is the New York State’s allocation of sports betting tax money to fund youth sports initiatives : since 2023, the State has set up a carve out of $5 million a year for youth sports organizations. In his guide to the African sports industry, James Torvaney estimated that the sports betting industry generated $3 billion in revenue in 2022 and that the region was the fastest growing sports betting market with a growth forecast of 17% between 2022 and 2027. As such, countries where sports betting generates the most revenues could look at sports betting operators as allies in helping shape the ecosystem at the grassroots level. 

Education 

Most African countries inherited from European educational systems that placed very little emphasis on sports and physical education. Yet, it is within the school system that kids can be exposed to a more diverse range of sports disciplines and wherein successful pathways around sports can emerge. The United States can be conjured again as an example : the country’s educational system places sports at a more central stage. The NCAA athletes delivered a total of 127 gold medals, including 22 for non-American athletes and while there is not the time to develop a system as robust as the NCAA on African soil before the next Olympics (although ultimately we should explore that option), there are pathways that can be engineered to ensure that more young African sporting talents benefit from the level of infrastructure and sports training that are available in the US collegiate system. The evolution of the NCAA rules around athletes’ opportunity to commercialize their names, image and likeness will likely extend to international athletes in the future. In the meantime, international athletes could observe similar tactics as their peers but earn revenue or forms of compensation from sponsors in their home countries. 

A longer term solution related to education would be the development of privately-owned sports academies that, from an early age, would train student athletes to their best abilities. Certain disciplines such as football and basketball have already paved the way for these institutions : Academies like Diambars, Pepsi Football Academy, Generation Foot Academy, Right to Dream or even the NBA Academy have helped put African sporting talents on the world stage. However, we need academies that allow sporting talents to emerge in other disciplines as well as in individual sports : the likes of the Mauritius Academy of Sport or NextGen in Kenya are good illustrations in the matter. 

Will more private sector funding and new sports academies magically solve the incompetence that exists in some federations and sports ministries ? The short answer is no. The longer answer is that only if we bring in more stakeholders around the table can we force the hand of the very institutions that are currently crippling sports in Africa. Sports governance is messy even beyond our own African borders, the French Gymnastics Federation which led to Kaylia Nemmour choosing to compete for Algeria is a prime example of that. Sitting and complaining about governance and administrative matters will not move the needle forward.