|By Christopher Ayeni
Maiden Africa School Games Set to Kick Off October 17 in Lagos
All is set for the maiden edition of the Africa School Games (ASG), scheduled to begin on Friday, October 17, at the British International School (BIS), Lagos.
According to the organisers, the three-day sports festival aims to discover, develop, and showcase young athletic talent across Africa, providing a platform for students to gain exposure and scholarship opportunities both locally and abroad.
Young athletes from various schools will compete in swimming, athletics, and football across three age categories — Under-11, Under-13, and Under-15.
Co-founder of the tournament, Aderoju Ope-Ajayi, explained that the privately-organised event was born out of a conviction that Africa needs its own platform to identify and promote the sporting potential of its youth. “For too long, opportunities for our children have been shaped by external systems. It’s time to change that. This is more than a competition; it’s about ownership, pride, and building a legacy for the next generation,” she said.
The initiative is being driven by Dr. Seun Akinbohun, Dr. Busola Tejumola, and Ope-Ajayi, who co-founded ASG with the vision of creating a continental sports ecosystem that empowers schools, coaches, and young athletes to thrive within Africa.
According to Ope-Ajayi, the Africa School Games is designed as a structured school sports framework that focuses on talent identification, ecosystem building, and strategic partnerships with schools, sports federations, governments, and the private sector to improve capacity, facilities, and coaching standards.
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She also emphasised the need for Nigeria and other African countries to rethink their approach to sports development, describing sports as a national development tool, not merely an extracurricular activity. “We wait until athletes are adults to start paying attention to them. By then, many have already fallen through the cracks. In countries that dominate global sports, the work starts in schools through structured competitions and investment in coaching and talent tracking,” she noted.
Looking ahead, Ope-Ajayi said the goal is for the Africa School Games to become Africa’s leading school sports platform, expanding annually to include more countries, more sports, and more institutions.
She added that the long-term vision is to create a strong talent pipeline that feeds into national teams, scholarship programmes, and international sporting opportunities, while positioning Africa as a key player in global sports development. “We want a future where young African athletes don’t have to leave the continent to be discovered. ASG will become a catalyst for redefining sports as a strategic growth sector for Africa,” she said.
