5 Most Popular Sports in Africa
The African continent is globally recognized for its excellence in various sports. The Africans believe that sports bring them together, irrespective of their culture and social affiliation. Many praiseworthy sports personalities trace their roots back to this historic continent. Africa hosts some of the best modern-day golf courses spanning across Mauritius, Kenya, and Nigeria. …
The African continent is globally recognized for its excellence in various sports. The Africans believe that sports bring them together, irrespective of their culture and social affiliation. Many praiseworthy sports personalities trace their roots back to this historic continent.
Africa hosts some of the best modern-day golf courses spanning across Mauritius, Kenya, and Nigeria. And you can bet on each of the matches easily with local South African sports betting with Betway, anytime. All you need to do is log on to Betway and create your account.
The Top 5 Popular Sports in Africa
Although according to statistics, golf doesn’t make our list of the five most popular sports in Africa. But here are the sports Africa cherishes deeply,
- Football
Unlike most sports, football requires minimal resources and therefore rules over the hearts of Africans. The African Cup of Nations brings together the top African footballing nations to celebrate the sport of football. It is common to sight youngsters playing football in every part of the continent.
The Africans have a sports association dedicated solely for the administration of football; the Confederation of African Football. Many Africans play the sport on a global level, including popular personalities such as Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, and Yaya Touré.
- Rugby Union
Rugby was not always popular in Africa, but in recent years the sport has gained momentum in various countries on the continent. South Africa steered the sport to fame and other African countries such as Kenya, Ghana, and Namibia followed cue.
In 2016 the Kenyan National Rugby team won the IRB Sevens World Series, Dubai.
In South Africa alone 600,000 registered rugby players exist followed by Kenya with 40,000 players. The World Rugby Rankings released in 2017 revealed South Africa at the fifth spot not far behind New Zealand, England, Ireland, and Australia.
- Running (Athletics)
The continent is an athletics powerhouse, dominating field and track events at every global competition. African athletes continue to break records at prominent sporting events. These athletes play huge roles to promote Africa as a sports continent.
With players such as Reggie Walker, David Rudisha, and Catherine Ndereba, the continent nurtures the best athletes.
- Cricket
South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe are three of the top cricketing nations in Africa. South Africa and Zimbabwe currently compete with the world’s best cricket teams to win the ICC World Cup. In 2003, the continent hosted the ICC World Cup with Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Kenya as co-hosts.
According to the 2017 rankings, South Africa ranks first in the ICC ODI Championship with a rating of 119.
- Basketball
The sport introduced in the 1960s dominates school competitions and is a popular sport among teenagers. NBA owes a lot to the African continent as many of the NBA stars are Africans including Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo. Nigerians, according to the NIKE FIBA World Men Rankings stand first among other African countries such as Tunisia, and Angola.
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