Editorial by Ghanaian Times: Welcome to 13th African Games

The 13th African Games, dubbed African Games Accra 2023, opened in Accra on Friday.

Running from March 8 to March 23, the sporting event, formerly called the All African Games, is gathering over 4,000 athletes from across the continent to compete in various sports disciplines in two cities: Accra and Cape Coast.

The three-week event, being organised in association with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the Association of Africa Sports Confederations, also doubles as a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

It is instructive to note that the Games are held every four years and a year before the Olympics.

We welcome the athletes and officials to the country, and we know all of them will experience the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality.

To that end, we appeal to all those who will happen to serve the visitors and even local athletes and officials, as well as fans, to be the Ghanaians that the whole world expects to see.

Originally scheduled to take place in August 2023, the Games were postponed to March 2024 but had to maintain their name, hence African Games 2023.

One of the reasons for the delay was that Ghana had difficulties completing the required facilities.

Now that the Games are running, it is obvious that the country has done its best in the provision of those facilities.

We are happy that because of the Games, the country can now boast about some sporting facilities, including the $145 million (€132.5 million) sports complex at Borteyman and the University of Ghana stadium, which had been under construction for two decades.

We are happier when it is touted that some of the facilities provided are world-class.

We are only sad that most of the continent’s popular athletes will not feature in the Games because the delayed Games are now taking place so close to the Paris Olympics in July, and those athletes want to prepare for Paris 2024.

Even though their absence can take some shine from the Games, we believe it would give some young and unknown athletes the opportunity to showcase their talents and consequently earn a place on the global sporting platform.

We, therefore, encourage all the participants in the Games to prove their mettle, and even those who do not win medals should count it as an opportunity to spur them on to prepare more for the years ahead, bearing in mind that their time will surely come one day.

Apart from the benefits the host country and the athletes and officials would gain from the Games, we think the pan-African nature of the event itself has a message for African countries.

In the world today, the best message is the one that emphasizes unity, peace, and teamwork, or togetherness.

Africans must not come together only for sporting activities but on every field that can bring the continent togetherness, peace, prosperity, and progress.

Africa must leverage that spirit behind the power that brings its people of diverse cultures and backgrounds together to compete in sports to, for instance, improve its political leadership in particular to improve the lot of the people.

We wish the visitors to the country a happy stay and pray for an unprecedentedly successful African Games in 2023.