2023 African Para Games
Logo
Host cityAccra, Ghana
MottoPara Sports Inspire a Better Africa
Nations22[1]
Opening3 September 2023
Closing12 September 2023
Main venueAccra Sports Stadium
Websitehttps://accra2023apg.com/

The 2023 African Para Games were the first edition of the African Para Games held between 3 and 12 September 2023 in Accra, Ghana.[2][3]

Sports

Initially seven sports were scheduled to be included in the programme. However due to a failure to meet minimum requirements set by the IPC, only the following three competitions actually took place:

2023 African Para Games Sports Programme

Preparations

In January 2022, president of the International Paralympic Committee Andrew Parsons visited Ghana in support of the 2023 African Para Games which are also to be held in Accra.[5][6]

Venues

Amputee football and wheelchair tennis was hosted at the Accra Sports Stadium and wheelchair basketball was hosted at Eden Hights.[1] Para athletics was expected to have taken place at the University of Ghana stadium, however this facility was not completed in time to host the event and the sport was dropped from the programme.[1]

Branding

The logo and motto for the games, Para Sports Inspire a Better Africa, was revealed in November 2022. The games support the IPC #WalkInMyShoe initiative which aims to "break the stigma attached to Para sports" in African nations.[7] The mascot of the games was an anthropomorphised cocoa bean with a prosthetic leg.[8] The mascot was widely mocked on social media for resembling the children's nursery rhyme character Humpty Dumpty.[9]

Participating nations

Initially 36 nations were expected to compete, however this number dropped to 22 in the lead up to the games:[10][11][12][13]

Participating National Paralympic Committees

Medals table

The medals awarded were as follows:[16]

  *   Host nation (Ghana)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Morocco3317
2 South Africa2204
3 Algeria1102
4 Ghana1001
5 Kenya0101
6 Egypt0022
 Nigeria0022
8 DR Congo0011
 Senegal0011
Totals (9 entries)77721

Concerns and criticisms

Planning and implementation

Initially seven sports were planned to be included in the schedule; amputee football, goalball, para athletics, para powerlifting, sitting volleyball wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis. However, following failures by the local organising committee to meet the "minimum required standards" set by the International Paralympic Committee, para Athletics, para Powerlifting and goalball were dropped from the programme in July 2023.[17] Sitting volleyball was also subsequently dropped, resulting on only three sports being included in the programme. Para athletics was expected to have taken place at the University of Ghana stadium, however this facility was not completed in time to host the event.[1]

National withdrawals

Initially 36 nations were expected to compete. However several nations withdrew in the lead up to the games resulting in only 22 competing.[1]

Anti-LGBT+ legislation

The Ghanaian parliament has passed anti-LGBT+ laws banning the advocation of same-sex relationships and transgender rights. These laws carry the threat of prison sentences of up to ten years for advocating for better rights for LGBT+ people and five years for identifying as LGBT+. The anti-LGBT+ laws have been condemned by the United Nations and the vice-president of the United States.[18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Deen insists Ghana "ready" for African Para Games despite nations pulling out". www.insidethegames.biz. 24 July 2023.
  2. ↑ https://sunnewsonline.com/ghana-to-host-nigeria-35-other-african-countries-in-2023-para-games/
  3. ↑ "African Para Games underway in Accra - The Point". thepoint.gm.
  4. ↑ "2023 African Championships @ African Para Games". IWBF - International Wheelchair Basketball Federation. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  5. ↑ Dowdeswell, Andrew (6 January 2022). "Parsons offers full IPC commitment to first-ever African Para Games in Ghana in 2023". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  6. ↑ Dowdeswell, Andrew (8 October 2021). "Ghana pledges to host first-ever African Paralympic Games in 2023". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  7. ↑ "African Para Games campaign to break Para sports stigma endorsed by IPC". www.insidethegames.biz. 26 November 2022.
  8. ↑ https://twitter.com/ParalympicGh/status/1693597317654278434
  9. ↑ https://twitter.com/moysgovgh/status/1693392717584253089
  10. ↑ Sikubwabo, Damas (28 February 2023). "Rwanda to take part in 2023 African Para Games". The New Times.
  11. ↑ https://twitter.com/ParalympicGh/status/1691728210088673473/photo/2
  12. ↑ "2023 African Championships @ African Para Games". 16 February 2023.
  13. ↑ https://accra2023apg.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PROGRAM-LOC-Africa-Para-Games-2023.pdf
  14. ↑ Sikubwabo, Damas (28 February 2023). "Rwanda to take part in 2023 African Para Games". The New Times. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  15. ↑ De Beer, Rienk (31 August 2023). "Team Announcement: African Para Games". TeamSA. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  16. ↑ https://twitter.com/ParalympicGh/status/1702731175096185088
  17. ↑ "More than 40 per cent of African Para Games programme culled". www.insidethegames.biz. 9 July 2023.
  18. ↑ "African Games hosts Ghana set to pass anti-LGBT bill after supreme court ruling". www.insidethegames.biz. 23 July 2023.
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