The All Africa Games, the Games has now been renamed the “African Games”, after running 11 previous editions.
The Games returned to its birthplace, Brazzaville, in 2015 where it was first held 50 years ago in 1965 as the All Africa Games.
The Games are expected to be held every four years. However, for one reason or the other, the four yearly cycle has not been maintained.
According to Olabanji Oladapo, the Executive Secretary of the Africa Table Tennis Federation, the decision for the name change was arrived at during the Executive Council meeting of the African Union held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2012.
Oladapo said: “The AU Executive Council meeting endorsed the recommendation of the 4th Ordinary Session of the African Union Conference of Ministers of Sports held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from October 17 to October 21, 2011.
“The establishment of a new Architecture for Africa Games led to the dissolution of the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa.
“The decision, inter alia, fractured the function, assets and liabilities of the SCSA to the AU Commission, including the ownership of the African Games.
“The decision vested the ownership of the African Games to the AU, while entrusting the management and organisation of the Games to the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the Association of African Sports Confederations.”
Oladapo said the old six zones established under the SCSA had also been replaced by five regions.
Oladapo, a former Secretary-General of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, said Region One consists of West African countries, which has 15-member countries.
Region Two in East Africa with 13 countries, while Region Three, which is Southern Africa, has 10 countries.
Region Four, which consists of countries in Central Africa, has nine members and Region Five, which consists of countries in North Africa has six member states.
Previous hosts of the Games were Brazzaville, 1965; Lagos (1973); Algiers 1978; Nairobi 1987; Egypt 1991; Harare1995; Johannesburg1999; Abuja 2003; Algiers 2007; Maputo 2011; and back to Brazzaville 2015.