The African Games; a critical analysis of the continent's highest sporting honours
In the first part of this duology, I focused on celebrating what The African Games (AG) meant as a fan and as a naturally optimistic Ghanaian. The piece spoke to how it was a true celebration of the continents finest athletes. This writing on the other hand, aims to acknowledge the joy that it brung, while also recognising the creative and commercial potentials of an event like this. As a spectator, I thoroughly enjoyed the games, I loved the energy of it all; I got to see these amazing athletes and felt genuinely grateful to be a part of an event of at scale happening within Ghana, the 13th African Games. For those less familiar with AG, as the name suggests it is the premier continental multi-sport event, with this years games; hosting over 5,000 athletes from 52 African nations. All-in-all, it was a really good moment to have witnessed but unfortunately, it was just that; good, the age-old enemy of great. What makes being good so dangerous is the lack of pressure to do the necessary and purse greatness. I aim to discuss some of my observations that could have elevated The African Games to be truly great.
What happened to the communications?
The biggest hurdle that AG faced was their ability to communicate. This issue was only made worse by the failure to update the name… Originally the Games were scheduled to start in August of 2023 but due to disagreements over marketing rights, they were pushed out to March 2024. I can only imagine that the cost reprinting marketing material would have been too high to justify the rebrand. My caveat is that it would have been cheaper than half-empty stadiums, which is unfortunately was the reality for the less popular events.
For an event like this to be successful you need to engage a large audience, ideally with free time and a level of disposable income. Considering for a moment how many people flew into Ghana, both locals and tourists, that should have been a storytelling hotspot. It could have been a great opportunity to showcase newly built stadium in less visited parts of the country to tourists or even a comforting reminder that a local hero is due to bring back gold. Something for everyone. With that being said, one thing I loved to see was that brand energy coming through across the out-of-home adverts, the painted bus wraps and on-site signage.
Media coverage was an afterthought and The Games suffered for it.
With a sporting audience fresh off of the 2023 AFCON tournament, the Games were poised to follow suit. Yes, we expected a great show of culture and athletic performance but equally the events had to be easy to follow and broadcasted far and wide. The reality was that TV coverage was sporadic and failed to create build up prior to each event. The information on the website was largely out of date and/or just inaccurate and there was a lack a official social media coverage. To be constructive, I think they would have largely benefitted from maintaining a dedicated YouTube channel, with simple content streams; a daily overview each morning, live streams of events, and daily recaps each evening. Resulting in what would have felt very cohesive alongside going to live events and catching moments on TV.
Stories: There were no athlete narratives before, during or after the tournament, stories are such a critical part of the viewing experience. For both casuals and fans, context is everything. It would have been great to know who the home town heroes were? Which of the athletes are at their first tournament? Who is expected to dominate their event? All of these sub-plots create the entertainment value of a competition.
Social: The general awareness of what was happening and where there were taking place was low. Even if the venues were detailed on the website, I think there was a lack reach or signposts to drive traffic to the site. Of course, the first social media solutions are to get some energy behind The Games’ Tik Tok and Instagram channels, this is imperative for the global growth of the tournament. But considering the local market with a bit of cultural sensitivity would lead you to set up a formal WhatsApp community, it would have been the perfect go-to platform for The Games. We have a product that people are interest in and willing to partake in, let’s meet them were they are, ensuring that it’s as accessible as possible. Further, AG updates should equip our most engaged audiences with the all the information required to make a day trip to an event or invite friends along with them. Finally, a communications effort to encourage those in the stands share their reactions, thoughts and feelings on socials.
Further Reading: From Spectator to producing Sports Content: Inside the unforgettable journey of the African Games — Accra 2023
What was the marketing strategy?
Alongside the public awareness, the marketing strategy failed to consider pre-tournament fan engagement opportunities, especially for those based outside of the hosting cities. It would’ve been great to create some hype across the country with partnership-led collaborations with the tournaments hero athletes creating tribal fan bases in the lead up.
The London marathon is great case study for national sporting activations. And with this years merchandise partner New Balance, who have on all accounts been enjoying success after success, 2024 set a new standard. Back in 2017 New Balance agreed on a long-term sponsorship deal with the London Marathon, garnering them exclusive rights to be the events official merchandise provider. An opportunity that they have leveraged to build a running culture ‘Run Your Way’ that has grown ever stronger, parallel to the global shifts towars overall wellness. In both their macro and micro activations New Balance of laddered up a wide range of experiences that really help elevate the sense of occasion, reminding people that they are part of something bigger than themselves. New Balance have hosted running shows for people to try out new and unreleased trainers at state-of-the-art venues, exclusively for those who will be running the marathon. Additionally, they released training plans, created lifestyle content and organised run clubs across the country encouraging people to get involved where they are and empowering individual to run in their own way. Their strategy even cater for those less active, inviting them to immersive experience galleries that celebrate New Balances history in footwear and apparel. The 360 nature of New Balances approach means that; previously casual fans would now have a sense of ownership to the running on a whole and ultimately The London Marathon. Resulting in the much lighter task of all parties communicating to an engaged audience base. In contrast Ghana Athletics, unveiled their ASICS as their kit supplier mid-way through the tournament… As the host nation I can’t help but feel as though their was a mutually-beneficial opportunity missed here.
Elemenets from New Balances London Marathon campaign
What’s gonna happen to these stadiums?
Finally, to round out this thought-piece, a comment on the total expenditure. Now I preface all of this by stating that I am a massive advocate for African athlete storytelling and marketing, I believe the investment into African sports is going to have a direct impact on the rise of Africa. With that being said, until that rise begins to take affect, access to finance will be limited and so must be stewarded with care. In the weeks folowing the closing ceremony, multiple reports have come out highlighting discrepancies between how much was spent on the Games and the quality of product we received in return. Without diving into the politics, it is imperative that the all facilities, particularly the newly built arenas have a clear strategy for their life-cycle. The worst case would be that these facilities are not used between now and the next major tournament.
Accra 2023: Minority calls for investigation into $240m expenditure
We have seen the success stories on the continent already, firstly with South Africa’s ever growing football eco-system post 2010 World Cup and more notably the amazing job Rwanda has done with the now named, BK arena. Rwanda have taken a franchise-style approach with their major sporting complex. Understanding it’s capacity to suit multiple needs, its primary function as to be a world-class Basketball arena, proudly hosting the Basketball Africa League, a product of NBA Africa. BAL, which is fast becoming one of the premier commodities in world sport is now synonymous with Kigali. In addition, it’s the venue for the Giants of Africa festival delivering educational conferences, cultural galas and music concerts all under the one roof. They have positioned themselves as East Africas hub for entertainment, sports and events. Not only does this serve corporations in the region; but it directly impacts the earning potential of locals that live and work in and around the arena. In the case of Ghana’s new arenas and updated facilities these are three essential life-cycle use cases they should be considering:
Grass-roots development: Providing access to local clubs, universities, teams that will be developing local athletes.
Commercial venue: These spaces can serve as a income generator for the government when used for concerts, conferences or events.
Professionalism development: A physical statement of intent, providing state-of-the-art to the top athletes in the region.
This is the power of sports in Africa, what can start as a kids dream to play basketball, can lead to the development of a nation. Athletes have the power to change Africa, which means African sports have a collective responsibility to make sure the change is positive. I have every intention of being part of this infrastructure, making sure we platform and showcase the breadth of Pan-African athletes. I’d also love to hear your thoughts and views on the subject area, feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn or email me: eugene.ekuban@icloud.com
Honourable mentions to the some of the literature that informed this writing.
AFRO SPORT — Mami Wata
China Keeps Building Stadiums in Africa. But at What Cost? — New York Times
Inside the Ghanaian neighborhood that produces boxing greats — CNN
Thank you for reading and God bless,
Ekuban, E. (2024)
