The gap in sports investment between North African countries and countries from other parts of the continent is manifesting in the performance of their athletes at the ongoing African Games in Ghana.
The top five countries on the medal table of the 13th African Games include three countries from North Africa and South Africa, with Nigeria being the only sub-Saharan African country rubbing shoulders with them.
Egypt continued its lead at the apex of the medal table with 165 medals.
Their medal component has 92 gold, 40 silver, and 33 bronze medals.
Nigeria follows them with 31 gold medals, 22 silver medals, and 33 bronze medals, for a total of 85 medals.
Third-placed South Africa has 10 more medals than second-placed Nigeria. However, the Nigerians are ranked above them because they won more gold medals.
While Nigeria has 31 gold medals, South Africa has 28 gold medals.
Algeria and Tunisia occupy fourth and fifth places, respectively. Algeria has 23 gold medals, 33 silver medals, and 40 bronze medals, while Tunisia has 14 gold, 21 silver, and 29 bronze.
Outside the top five, host nation Ghana has jumped to sixth, thanks to the incredible performance of the arm wrestling team, who won 41 medals in their respective weight competitions.
Mauritius, Eritrea, Morocco, and Ethiopia complete the top ten on the medal table.
Meanwhile, the games continue on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, with the finals of the 800-metre and men’s 4x100m relay expected to attract viewers to the University of Ghana Sports Stadium.
Below are the top ten countries
