Rebecca Ross-Hauer 1

Sports in Africa

Throughout the history of Africa, sport has gone through many changes and evolutions.

The biggest driving force behind these changes has been the influence of European colonialism.

However many other factors have played important roles. Of secondary importance, the

increasing urbanization and growth of city centers and the middle class did a lot to advance the

development of sport in Africa. Thirdly, missionaries and their brand of muscular Christianity

were an important factor in the spread of sports, as they reached places across the African

continent, and always brought sports with them. Furthermore, the influence of public school

education and its emphasis on sports in both England and Africa cannot be denied especially

since many English graduates went straight into colonial service. Finally, precolonial African

games were also a factor, since in many places they provided a framework for the introduction of

sports to African societies.

The massive impact of colonialism and the influence of Europeans in Africa had the

single greatest effect on African sports. Europeans greatly changed the role of games and sports

as well as introducing new sports to Africa, and attempting to downplay native ones. Sports

should not be underestimated as an agent of colonial influence. Social Darwinism was at its

height during the Colonial period and the English Victorian ages. Europeans applied Darwin's

views on evolution and survival of the fittest on a societal level. They believed they were further

evolved as a society than civilizations in other parts of the world, like Africa, and therefore

deserved to rule them (Lecture 7/7). However this belief also had a paternalistic side. As more

civilized nations, it was the duty of all great powers to help those less fortunate than themselves

and uplift them into proper civilization. This involved making them as much like European
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civilizations as possible. During the colonial period, sports had become an important fixture of

European societies. Athletics and team sports, as opposed to field sports, were considered an

important part of civilized societies. Sports were believed to instill good values and proper

character into men and help them to be upstanding Christian gentlemen, as a proper man should

be according to their beliefs. Sports provided a framework for competition in a way that

Europeans found fair, and allowed men to show their abilities in a non-prideful way. Sports

taught teamwork and leadership, and men were often judged by their athletic abilities. Sports

were therefore a natural element of Colonialism. During the Colonial Era, Europe was also

undergoing a period of urbanization and economic growth due to the Industrial Revolution. This

lead to a new middle class which had increased leisure time and often wished to mimic the lives

of the upper class (Lecture 7/7). The aristocracy saw the rise of wealth and leisure time among

the lower classes as dangerous elements that threatened their power. They wanted to steer the

lower classes towards what they considered moral pursuits, as well as improve their character

(Lecture 7/9). Sports provided both an appropriate outlet for the lower classes as well as a way to

exert some control over them. Furthermore, in England at least, sports helped to bridge the gap

between the old rural masculine ideals of ruggedness and hard work and the rise of new, more

urbanized ideas of how to be a proper man. They provided an outlet for men to prove their

masculinity (Lecture 7/9). These useful attributes were not overlooked by colonial

administrations, who worked hard to popularize European sports like football and cricket among

the African populace. Sports were used as a form of social control, an attempt to both provide

what Europeans considered appropriate, moral pastimes to the “primitive” natives and teach

them what colonial administrators considered proper values.

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Further reinforcing the growth and importance of sport was the increasing growth and

importance of African urban centers. After World War 1, changing colonial tactics lead to heavy

taxes on colonial citizens, in an attempt to make colonies financially self-sufficient. These new

taxes combined with the effects of the great depression and the need to find work lead to an

explosion of growth in cities. Lagos, Nigeria more than doubled in population between 1931 and

1953 for example (Lecture 7/14). This new mixed urban class worried colonial administrators,

who feared it would bring gangs and ethnic strife. In a somewhat similar way to how European

aristocrats encouraged sport among their own lower classes, they saw sports as the answer to this

problem. Sports provided a new form of unity to people, reducing tensions between groups and

encouraged what colonialists thought of as proper values. Colonial administrators viewed sport

as a means of controlling and reforming this growing urban class (Lecture 7/14). However,

Africans had their own views. Many new urban dwellers sought out new leisure activities to fill

their suddenly regimented time. They also played sports as a means to hold onto some control

over their lives (Abler & Akyeampong 8).

An additional key element in the spread of sports through Africa was the work of

Christian missionaries, who worked tirelessly to Christianize and also to properly “civilize”

African societies, as they saw it. These aspects can't be separated from each other as European

Christians believed their religion was an important aspect of their civilized society. Pagans and

nonchristians were seen as backwards and primitive people who needed to be shown the truth, in

order to save their souls (Lecture 7/7). Missionaries traveled far and wide across Africa

spreading not only Christian beliefs, but also Christian values. They typically attempted to

downplay native cultural elements they found unpleasant, which often included precolonial
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games and rituals. These missionaries then sought to replace these unfavored aspects of African

societies with their own games and activities which tied into a proper Christian life. After only 1

decade of British rule, their were over 16 different Christian sects operating in Tanganyika, most

of them in an educational role (Ndee 922). They favored an interpretation of Christianity tied

into sports and fitness, called muscular Christianity. Muscular Christianity focused on soundness

of body as well as mind and these missionaries believed strongly in physical fitness as a way to

better yourself for Christ (Lecture 7/9). They believed you could not have a proper spiritual

relationship if your body was unfit. However they also needed a way to instill Christian values

into native societies. To do this they looked to sports, especially team sports like football, which

they believed not only trained the body but also taught christian moral values like honesty and

selflessness. One school they established in Tanganyika, Alliance School in Dodonna, used a

house system with heavy focus on inter-house sports competition. The students were directly

supervised by the school Chaplain, who was in charge of all athletic activities (Ndee 924).

This trend toward health and athleticism during the 19th century meant sports were

incorporated into more than religion. Around this time sport also became a significant part of

public school curriculum in England. This effort was lead by Thomas Arnold, headmaster of

Rugby, who wanted to teach boys how to be gentlemen (Lecture 7/9). Prior to Thomas Arnold's

reforms, English public schools focused primarily on classics and intellectual study, and were

mostly seen as a diversion for aristocrats. As part of his reforms, Arnold instituted team sports

and physical education as a key part of public school education. Arnold wanted to build character

and though athletics were the way to do that (Lecture 7/9). He believed that boys should play

sports from a young age and that it would teach them proper British values so they could grow
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up to be upstanding Victorian gentlemen. As Arnold's reforms spread British public schools came

to view sport as a necessary part of schooling and a way for boys to develop proper qualities of

leadership and self-confidence. These public schools were upper tier schools for the well-off or

well-connected and many boys moved off into colonial service, often recruited specifically for

their athletic accomplishments. For example the Sudanese Political Service, the colonial

administration of Sudan, recruited directly from English public schools like Oxford and

Cambridge, and specifically sought men with good athletic records (Lecture 7/9). These public

school graduates brought sports and its importance to their lives with them to Africa, and

encouraged its spread to the native populations. Furthermore when colonial governments began

setting up their own schools in Africa, they made sure again that sports was a key part of the

curriculum from the beginning, introducing a new generation of children to sports from an early

age (Lecture 7/14).

Though Europeans and their influence had many effects on sport in Africa, the existence

of precolonial African games is also important. Games and sport have been important parts of

African society since well before European intervention. There were many types of games in

African societies, from physical games of combat to intellectual ones like mancala. Games had

important roles to play in precolonial Africa (Lecture 7/2). These games came to be important

parts of many societies and were used in a variety of ways. In the Venda society for example,

they had different words to differentiate the many different types of dances they used, so ngoma

were sacred ritual dances while mutambo dances were game dances (Mangan & Baker 15). They

had many kinds of dancing, used in different contexts, often initiation rituals. Prior to the

colonial period, the most widespread games in Africa were combat sports like wrestling. During
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the 19th century, warriors had become glorified, and skillful ones gained great prestige. These

combat sports evolved as a way for men to show their skill and strength, and thus gain prestige

and status within their society (Lecture 7/2). They allowed people to move upwards based on

their personal merit and abilities. Women were often not allowed to play, but they contributed to

the games in other ways, by casting charms and making potions to protect players. Thus we can

see that games were a multifaceted part of many societies. Wrestling especially was extremely

widespread but often treated very differently from society to society. In Senegal for example,

early wrestling was between boys who had recently been circumcised as part of their coming of

age. Later boys would form into societies that wrestled each other for prestige, a festive event

(Mangan and Baker 25). Whereas among the Duala people, wrestling matches between villages

were a highly formal, ceremonialized affair, conducted by champions with high status (Mangan

and Baker 31). Children played a variety of different kinds of games, including mancala, boxing,

dancing as well as activities imitative of adult life (Mangan & Baker 12). Though it's hard to

generalize, these children's games were often seen as socializing tools, to teach kids the values of

their society and how to behave (Mangan & Baker 13) . Thus these games often included

elements of adult life. Games and sports were an important part of African life well before

colonial intervention.

Sports have had a long and complicated history in Africa, from precolonial times to

modern day. Many factors have contributed to the spread of sports across Africa. The influence

of European colonialism had a lot to do with the rise in sports across Africa, but it was hardly the

only influnce, and plenty of games existed before their arrival. They modified and added on to

these games in many places. In others they attempted to replace native games through the
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introduction of new sports. These western sports were pushed by missionaries in conjunction

with their belief system and further reinforced through their key placement in the curriculum’s of

both European and African schools, ensuring children were brought up with sports from an early

age. Finally the rise of city centers and increasing urbanization pushed Africans with time and

money towards new activities, and sports was ready and waiting to be embraced.