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2024 is a milestone year for SportsAfrica, marking our 20th year of existence.  A series of webinars will cover various topics throughout the year. Below is a list of the book discussions we have lined up.
Upcoming Event
 

SportsAfricaLive #13 (Book discussion)

Africa and the Olympics: Winning Away From the Podium Thursday, September 2025 @ 3 pm GMT (Dakar time) 11:00 am US EST – 10:00 am US CST – 8:00 am US PST – 6:00 pm Nairobi 4:00 pm Lagos – 5:00 pm Jo’burg Zoom registration https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zHKees20TTy3_hQg3KmMrQ
The author Prof. Todd Cleveland
Discussants: Lorna Jepkoech Kimaiyo, Columbia University (USA) Yomi Ejikunle, University of Louisville (USA)
Moderator: Dr. Martha Saavedra, University of California, Berkeley, (USA)
Support SportsAfrica Conference in AbidjanSupport SportAfrica  To support our mission and to join in with your donation for the Abidjan Conference, visit the following link: https://africanstudies.org/donate/  Select Coordinate Org, and then write in Sports Africa Or Use the QR code to your right
Emerging Scholars Working Group
**Launching the Emerging Scholars Working Group: Call for Co-Chairs** Sports Africa Network is excited to announce the establishment of an Emerging Scholars Working Group, designed to foster collaboration among and support for emerging African sports studies scholars. The Emerging Scholars Working Group aims to engage and collaborate with emerging scholars across Africa and globally. The group will conceptualize and implement initiatives under Sports Africa, addressing the needs and interests of scholars at the early stages of their academic careers. We are currently seeking nominations, including self-nominations, for two co-chairs to launch and lead the Emerging Scholars Working Group. The co-chairs will be responsible for:
  • Engaging and collaborating with emerging African sports studies scholars
  • Conceptualizing and running initiatives under Sports Africa to benefit emerging scholars (e.g. webinars, publications, guidance on funding, or otherwise)
  • Serving as ambassadors for the Working Group within the broader Sports Africa Network.
SportsAfricaLive
In 2023 SportsAfrica will hold a series of Sports Africa Live (SAL) Webinars and workshops. You are cordially invited to take part as an attendee or presenter. Sports Africa Live (SAL) sessions are virtual roundtables typically 90 to 120 minutes long, focusing on specific current and ongoing issues in African Sports. The content draws from practical experiences as well as academic and empirical knowledge to create a rich exchange among all participants. Email sportsafricaufs@gmail.com or fill up the Proposal Form to express your interest in presenting a Sports Africa Live session in one of the following formats, and the proposal guidelines and submission form will be sent to you by a member of the SportsAfrica team: Thematic panels Research workshops Book launches The upcoming sessions will be announced ahead of time.
Past Events
INJS-UNSCO-CChair-UHB-transp INJS-UNSCO-CChair-UHB-transp 16th Annual Conference – 16ème Conférence SportsAfrica April 3–5, 2025 • Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire Institut de la Jeunesse et des Sports Theme: Sports in Africa: Ethics, Bioethics, Technologies & Culture Thème: Sport en Afrique : Éthique, Bioéthique, Technologies et Culture Other sports-related themes accepted –  Autres thèmes liés au sport acceptés Call for Papers – Appel a Contribution This Abidjan Conference marks the 20th anniversary of SportsAfrica Network, an organization dedicated to advancing Sports Studies in Africa. To present at the conference, please submit your abstract by January 27, 2025 @ https://sportsafrica.org/soumission-des-resumes-abstract-submission/ Cette conférence d’Abidjan marque le 20e anniversaire du réseau SportsAfrica, une organisation dédiée à l’avancement des études sportives en Afrique. Pour présenter à la conférence, veuillez soumettre votre résumé avant le 27 janvier 2025 @ https://sportsafrica.org/soumission-des-resumes-abstract-submission/  SportsAfrica @ the 67th Annual Meeting of African Studies Association Chicago, Illinois, December 11-15, 2024 SportsAfrica Trivia Session 1 • Institutionalized Sports and African Nation States Session 2 • Institutionalized Sports and African Nation States Session 3 • Sporting Life (Hi)stories (5th floor) Click for the session details 
Book discussions with the authors African Football Migration, Aspiration Experiences, Trajectories
Panelists and authors: Christian UngruheUniversity of Passau Paul DarbyUlster University James EssonQueen Mary, University College London Moderator: Mari H. Engh, University of KwaZulu-Natal Click to watch the recording of the session
Adrican Foorball Migration Aspirations, Experiences and Trajectories
66th African Studies Association Annual Conference November 30 – December 2, 2023 San Francisco, CA (USA)

SportsAfrica Meeting

December 1, 2023, 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM – Room Sierra E

Sports Africa Panels

Politics of Social Movements in Sports December 1, 2023, 10:15 AM – 12:00 PM

Telling Sporting Stories December 1, 1:15 PM – 3:00 PM

Struggle over African Football Dreams December 2, 10:15 AM – 12:00 PM

More about the panels and the panelists
SportsAfricaLive #11 Book Discussion Saturday, October 14, 2023 @ 3 pm GMT (Dakar time) Panelists: Prof Saleem Badat, University of the Free State. Mr Hoosen Bobat, Tennis Player Click to watch the recording of the session
SportsAfrica First Scholarly Forum
SportsAfrica Scholarly Forum is a meeting to discuss a pre-circulated unpublished research paper critically. The primary goal of the forum is to have an engaging discussion for scholars and practitioners of African Sports about research projects and to support researchers with ideas, suggestions, and questions.The first SportsAfrica Scholarly Forum will host Dr. Jorg Wiegratz, who will discuss with the participants his research paper, titled “The Dynamics of the Commercialisation of Football in Africa: the Case of Uganda”. Abstract: The commercialisation of football is a global phenomenon that affects all levels of the game. These developments have raised questions and triggered debates, for example  more>>Read the abstract and Jorg Wiegratz’s .
SportsAfrica 15th Conference
The SportsAfrica Network and the Center for African Studies at the University of Florida hosted the 15th Sports Africa Conference and 38th Gwendolen M. Carter Conference.ProgramKeynotesPanelists
SportsAfricaLive #10 (Book discussion) Saturday, November 5, 2022 @ 3pm GMT (Dakar time) 11:00am US EST – 10:00 am US CST – 8:00am US PST – 6:00pm Nairobi 4:00 pm Lagos – 5:00 pm Jo’burg The author Dr. Itamar Dubinsky  The discussants Dr. Ikechukwu Ejekwumadu Dr Papa K Owusu-Kwarteng 
SportsAfricaLive #9 SportsAfrica 9th Webinar: Sports and Gambling in Africa October 8, 2022 @ 3pm GMT More about the panelists and moderators >>

SportsAfricaLive #8 (Book discussion) Thursday September 29, 2022 @ 2:00 pm EST (6:00 pm GMT) Listen to the discussion: https://footballscholars.org/uncategorized/cameroonian-dreams/ More about Uroš Kovač and his publication >>
Sports Africa Conference 14th Conference African nations and world competitions – State of Play The Sociology and Anthropology Department at the Nelson Mandela University in partnership with Sports Africa,  and the Center for International Studies at Ohio University hosted the 14th edition of the Sports Africa Conference.

Vision:

Advancing African Sports Studies

Mission Statement:

Make African sport studies an interdisciplinary, inclusive, accessible and integral part of the global conversation and scholarship on sports with the intellectually vibrant, creative and passionate community of practitioners and academics.

Sports Africa Network

In fall 2003, a handful of African Studies scholars met during the African Studies Association conference in Boston to discuss the state of African Sports Studies in higher education. At this meeting, they founded and launched the Sports Africa Network.

From 2004 to 2014, the conference was held at Ohio University. The first 10 annual meetings addressed a variety of theoretical and practical themes: economics, gender, health, communication, politics, globalization. Training, financing, infrastructure, etc…

After ten annual meetings at Ohio University in Athens (USA), the conference moved to Africa in 2017 where it was first hosted by the Institute for Peace and Social Justice at Bloemfontein Free State University (South Africa). The theme of this eleventh Sports Africa Conference was “Sporting Subalternities and Social Justice“. In 2018, the twelfth conference was hosted by the University of Zambia under the theme ”Pan-African Sport Studies: Beyond Physical Education”. In 2019, Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar (Senegal) had the honor of being the first French and non-English speaking  country  to host the conference.

The conference, established as the flagship activity of Sports Africa Network, continues to be an exclusive forum for research on the theory and practice of sports in Africa to be produced, exchanged, and disseminated.

With the determination and passion of a group of scholars and practitioners from academic institutions, professional and non-profit organizations around the world, the Sports Africa Network has become an established name in African Sports Studies.

Board Members 

Dr. Gerard Akindes
Northwestern University, Qatar, and New York University, New York

Prof. Simon Akindes
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, USA

Prof. Peter Alegi

Michigan State University, USA

Dr. Hikabwa D. Chipende
African Union Sport Council and University of Zambia

Dr. Tarminder Kaur
University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Dr. Matthew Kirwin
George Washington University, USA

Dr. Bose Maposa
Ohio University, USA

Ms. Tasiyiwa Katie Mapondera
U, Qatar

Dr. Papa Owusu-Kwarteng 
Ohio University, USA

Dr. Martha Saavedra
University of California, Berkeley, USA 

Dr. Michele Sikes
Penn State University, USA

Vision:

Advancing African Sports Studies

Mission Statement:

Make African sport studies an interdisciplinary, inclusive, accessible and integral part of the global conversation and scholarship on sports with the intellectually vibrant, creative and passionate community of practitioners and academics.

Sports Africa Network

In fall 2003, a handful of African Studies scholars met during the African Studies Association conference in Boston to discuss the state of African Sports Studies in higher education. At this meeting, they founded and launched the Sports Africa Network.

From 2004 to 2014, the conference was held at Ohio University. The first 10 annual meetings addressed a variety of theoretical and practical themes: economics, gender, health, communication, politics, globalization. Training, financing, infrastructure, etc…

After ten annual meetings at Ohio University in Athens (USA), the conference moved to Africa in 2017 where it was first hosted by the Institute for Peace and Social Justice at Bloemfontein Free State University (South Africa). The theme of this eleventh Sports Africa Conference was “Sporting Subalternities and Social Justice“. In 2018, the twelfth conference was hosted by the University of Zambia under the theme ”Pan-African Sport Studies: Beyond Physical Education”. In 2019, Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar (Senegal) had the honor of being the first French and non-English speaking  country  to host the conference.

The conference, established as the flagship activity of Sports Africa Network, continues to be an exclusive forum for research on the theory and practice of sports in Africa to be produced, exchanged, and disseminated.

With the determination and passion of a group of scholars and practitioners from academic institutions, professional and non-profit organizations around the world, the Sports Africa Network has become an established name in African Sports Studies.

Board Members 

Dr. Gerard Akindes
Northwestern University, Qatar, and New York University, New York

Prof. Simon Akindes
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, USA

Prof. Peter Alegi

Michigan State University, USA

Dr. Hikabwa D. Chipende
African Union Sport Council and University of Zambia

Dr. Tarminder Kaur
University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Dr. Matthew Kirwin
George Washington University, USA

Dr. Bose Maposa
Ohio University, USA

Ms. Tasiyiwa Katie Mapondera
U, Qatar

Dr. Papa Owusu-Kwarteng 
Ohio University, USA

Dr. Martha Saavedra
University of California, Berkeley, USA 

Dr. Michele Sikes
Penn State University, USA

Vision:

Advancing African Sports Studies

Mission Statement:

Make African sport studies an interdisciplinary, inclusive, accessible and integral part of the global conversation and scholarship on sports with the intellectually vibrant, creative and passionate community of practitioners and academics.

Sports Africa Network

In fall 2003, a handful of African Studies scholars met during the African Studies Association conference in Boston to discuss the state of African Sports Studies in higher education. At this meeting, they founded and launched the Sports Africa Network.

From 2004 to 2014, the conference was held at Ohio University. The first 10 annual meetings addressed a variety of theoretical and practical themes: economics, gender, health, communication, politics, globalization. Training, financing, infrastructure, etc…

After ten annual meetings at Ohio University in Athens (USA), the conference moved to Africa in 2017 where it was first hosted by the Institute for Peace and Social Justice at Bloemfontein Free State University (South Africa). The theme of this eleventh Sports Africa Conference was “Sporting Subalternities and Social Justice“. In 2018, the twelfth conference was hosted by the University of Zambia under the theme ”Pan-African Sport Studies: Beyond Physical Education”. In 2019, Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar (Senegal) had the honor of being the first French and non-English speaking  country  to host the conference.

The conference, established as the flagship activity of Sports Africa Network, continues to be an exclusive forum for research on the theory and practice of sports in Africa to be produced, exchanged, and disseminated.

With the determination and passion of a group of scholars and practitioners from academic institutions, professional and non-profit organizations around the world, the Sports Africa Network has become an established name in African Sports Studies.

Board Members 

Dr. Gerard Akindes
Northwestern University, Qatar, and New York University, New York

Prof. Simon Akindes
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, USA

Prof. Peter Alegi

Michigan State University, USA

Dr. Hikabwa D. Chipende
African Union Sport Council and University of Zambia

Dr. Tarminder Kaur
University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Dr. Matthew Kirwin
George Washington University, USA

Dr. Bose Maposa
Ohio University, USA

Ms. Tasiyiwa Katie Mapondera
U, Qatar

Dr. Papa Owusu-Kwarteng 
Ohio University, USA

Dr. Martha Saavedra
University of California, Berkeley, USA 

Dr. Michele Sikes
Penn State University, USA

Vision:

Advancing African Sports Studies

Mission Statement:

Make African sport studies an interdisciplinary, inclusive, accessible and integral part of the global conversation and scholarship on sports with the intellectually vibrant, creative and passionate community of practitioners and academics.

Sports Africa Network

In fall 2003, a handful of African Studies scholars met during the African Studies Association conference in Boston to discuss the state of African Sports Studies in higher education. At this meeting, they founded and launched the Sports Africa Network.

From 2004 to 2014, the conference was held at Ohio University. The first 10 annual meetings addressed a variety of theoretical and practical themes: economics, gender, health, communication, politics, globalization. Training, financing, infrastructure, etc…

After ten annual meetings at Ohio University in Athens (USA), the conference moved to Africa in 2017 where it was first hosted by the Institute for Peace and Social Justice at Bloemfontein Free State University (South Africa). The theme of this eleventh Sports Africa Conference was “Sporting Subalternities and Social Justice“. In 2018, the twelfth conference was hosted by the University of Zambia under the theme ”Pan-African Sport Studies: Beyond Physical Education”. In 2019, Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar (Senegal) had the honor of being the first French and non-English speaking  country  to host the conference.

The conference, established as the flagship activity of Sports Africa Network, continues to be an exclusive forum for research on the theory and practice of sports in Africa to be produced, exchanged, and disseminated.

With the determination and passion of a group of scholars and practitioners from academic institutions, professional and non-profit organizations around the world, the Sports Africa Network has become an established name in African Sports Studies.

Board Members 

Dr. Gerard Akindes
Northwestern University, Qatar, and New York University, New York

Prof. Simon Akindes
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, USA

Prof. Peter Alegi

Michigan State University, USA

Dr. Hikabwa D. Chipende
African Union Sport Council and University of Zambia

Dr. Tarminder Kaur
University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Dr. Matthew Kirwin
George Washington University, USA

Dr. Bose Maposa
Ohio University, USA

Ms. Tasiyiwa Katie Mapondera
U, Qatar

Dr. Papa Owusu-Kwarteng 
Ohio University, USA

Dr. Martha Saavedra
University of California, Berkeley, USA 

Dr. Michele Sikes
Penn State University, USA

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