Tenth All Africa Games in Maputo

48 African nations are participating in the tenth All Africa Games at Zimpeto Stadium in Maputo on 3 September. An estimated 5,000 athletes are expected to take part in 23 different sports over the two-week multi-sport event, the largest of its kind on the African continent.

Most of the action takes place in the 42,000-seater multi-use Zimpeto Stadium, inaugurated in April 2011 and built with funds from the Chinese government, while Chidenguele in the Gaza province north of Maputo will host the canoeing.

The games, sometimes referred to as the African Games or the Pan African Games, are held every four years and are organised by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA). The four year cycle has been much-interrupted since the inaugural event was held in 1965 in Brazzaville, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the participation of 30 countries.

In 1969, the second edition of the games was scheduled to take place in Mali but a military coup forced their cancellation. They were then to be held in Lagos, Nigeria in 1971 but were postponed until 1973 due to the Biafra War. In 1977 the third games were to take place in Algeria but they too were postponed, until 1978. The next date set for the event was 1983, in Kenya, but this was also postponed - first to 1985 before finally taking place in Nairobi in 1987.

The lead-up to the tenth edition of the games was not without controversy however. Ghana had originally expressed interest in hosting the event, but later withdrew its offer. Then Zambia