The 3 weeks sports festival, which happened to be Ghana’s first hosting of the soccer fiesta attracted many people from across the continent.

President Nana Akufo-Addo, government officials and African Union delegation were among the hundreds of Ghanaians who witnessed the closing ceremony.

Accra 2023 marked the first time Ghana was hosting the Games, hauling 68 medals- 19 gold, 29 silver and 20 bronze- the largest in the nation’s history.

This marks the nation’s most successful participation since the Games’ inception in 1965, surpassing its previous best of 27 medals attained during the 1973 Games in Lagos, Nigeria.

With the nation waiting for success to begin the celebrations, Winnifred Ntumi delivered the first medal in weightlifting to kick off Ghana’s historic haul.

Ghana’s most popular sport, football made history with both male and female teams winning gold at stake in their respective categories over three weeks.

In other team sports, the female hockey team also took home gold. In an unprecedented performance, arm-wrestling took the Games by storm with eight gold medals.

Boxing also stepped up to take its place in the history of the Games with four gold medals, where Samuel Takyi, Ghana’s sole Olympic medalist in Tokyo, and Joseph Commey, a recent Commonwealth Games medalist delivered yet again.

One area that pulled the most crowd and attention and got rewarded for its resilience was athletics. With fans filling every space at every event, the athletes put on a show, claiming three gold medals spectacularly.

Ghana, hosting the highest number of disciplines since the Games’ inception finished sixth out of 53 participating nations, marking a significant improvement from her 15th position in the 2019 Rabat edition, where the team returned with 13 medals.

Similarly, the Accra 2023 Games hosted three disciplines more than the Rabat event of 26 disciplines. Until the Rabat event, host countries had been averaging 20 disciplines.

Over three weeks, the just-ended edition brought together 5000 elite athletes and coaches from 54 African countries in 29 multi-sports disciplines.

The event held over two cities; Accra and Cape Coast was used as an official qualifier for the XXXIII Olympic Games to be held in Paris this year. 

The Olympic qualifying events comprised athletes, swimming, cycling, badminton, wrestling, tennis, table tennis and triathlon.

Kenya’s Malkia Strikers began their Africa championship defense with a dominant performance, defeating Seychelles in straight sets on the first day of the Africa Volleyball Championships in Accra.

The Kenyan squad dominated the contest, winning comfortably 3-0.

The Malkia Strikers, who have previously won the tournament five times, are seeking for their sixth African championship. They compete in Pool B alongside Nigeria, Seychelles, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Below are some photos

There will be 30 sporting disciplines to be competed for at the games.

Apart from the women’s football event, which will take place in Cape Coast, all other disciplines will take place in Accra.

Eight (8) of the disciplines will serve as qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

They are wrestling, tennis, cycling, athletics, swimming, badminton, table tennis, and triathlon.

Seven (6) disciplines will be demonstration sports, namely; pickleball, sambo, E-sports, mixed martial arts, scrabble, and speedball.

The competition will take place in ten (10) different venues across Accra and Cape Coast.

See the full list of venues and events

This revelation was made during the official inauguration of the Borteyman Sports Complex on Tuesday.

Scheduled to take place from March 8 to March 23, this year’s African Games will predominantly unfold at the Borteman Sports Complex and the University of Ghana Stadium.

“We are anticipating an approximate audience of 2.2 billion individuals for the African Games, spanning across traditional media and social media platforms,” President Akufo-Addo stated.

He urged key stakeholders to collaborate to ensure that the forthcoming African Games will be remembered as the “most remarkable in history.”

Ghana aims to etch its name in the annals of the competitions across all sporting events.

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He made these remarks during the official inauguration of the Borteman Sports Complex on Tuesday which was attended by President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

The commissioning of the state-of-the-art sports facility also signals the commencement of the 25-day countdown to the multi-sport event scheduled from March 8 to March 23.

Accra, the capital of Ghana, will host the African Games, with the University of Ghana Stadium and Borteman Sports Complex serving as the primary venues.

Football matches featuring both male and female teams will take place at the Accra Sports Stadium and Cape Coast Stadium.

During his address, Minister Ussif highlighted the significance of Ghana hosting the event, which also serves as a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics in certain sports disciplines.

“The upcoming African Games hold immense importance for our nation’s development trajectory and beyond.

This event acts as a catalyst for progress, growth, and development. The construction of cutting-edge facilities within the country not only facilitates athlete excellence but also contributes significantly to overall infrastructural advancement” the Sports Minister said.

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