With global sport back to pre-pandemic heights, and sporting bodies playing catch-up with their World Cups, 2023 looks set to be one of the busiest in recent memory for African nations.
South Africa’s women’s national soccer team will look to complement their first ever Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) triumph in 2022 with a run to the knockout rounds of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Meanwhile, several young talents from across the continent will be looking to break through at the highest levels in basketball and American football alike, with the NBA, BAL, and NFL all airing on ESPN in Africa.
FIFA Women’s World Cup
Along with 2022 WAFCON winners South Africa, the continent will be represented at the FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand by runners-up Morocco and semi-finalists Nigeria and Zambia.
Banyana Banyana are in Group G along with Sweden, Italy and Argentina. Getting a top two finish to qualify for the knockout stage will be difficult, but not impossible.
Morocco are in Group H with Germany, Colombia and South Korea – a more favourable draw on paper.
Zambia, who represented African women’s football at the Tokyo Olympics, will compete in Group C alongside Spain, Costa Rica and Japan.
Nigeria, Africa’s top side in the FIFA World Rankings, are in what should be a highly competitive Group B, alongside Australia, the Republic of Ireland and Canada.
READ: Seven wishes for African football in 2023
Basketball Africa League III
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) returns to Dakar, Cairo, and Kigali after a 2022 edition which saw it expand into Senegal and Egypt after the 2021 event was held over just two weeks in a Rwanda bio-bubble.
The 2023 Sahara Conference in Dakar will tip off on March 11 and finish on March 21. Organisers have attempted to ensure that Ramadan falls between this and the Nile Conference in Cairo, hence the latter has been pushed back to April 26 – May 6.
The playoffs and finals will take place in Kigali for the third year running, from May 21-27. Tunisia‘s US Monastir will attempt to defend their title after they avenged their 2021 final defeat to Egypt’s Zamalek in the 2022 semi-finals, and then beat Angola’s Petro de Luanda in the final at the BK Arena in Kigali.
In 2022, the BAL Elevate program saw some of the continent’s most talented teenagers shining, including Thierry Serge Darlan, Khaman Maluach, Babacar Sané, Rueben Chinyelu, Emmanuel Okorafor and Khadim Rassoul Mboup.
In 2023, many of these talents will take their career to the next level, while a new crop is expected to introduce themselves to professional basketball at the BAL.
The BAL and NBA air on ESPN in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in select territories around the globe.
ESPN Africa Boxing
ESPN Africa Boxing returns in February 2023 after a successful 2022 that saw boxers from around the continent, and beyond, compete for titles and standing.
South African venues hosted the events in Johannesburg and Durban and their talent were unsurprisingly given an opportunity to shine. However, they weren’t the only African country to profit.
The DRC’s Emmany Kalombo and Malawi‘s Ellen Simwaka were some of the most successful participants, with Simwaka winning four out of four contests during the series.
Kalombo beat India‘s Shiva Thakran in the last event of 2022, which was a sign of how global the event has become. In total, 13 countries were represented throughout the course of the year.
ESPN Africa Boxing airs across sub-Saharan Africa on ESPN.
0:28
Emmany Kolombo wins bout vs. Shiva Thakran
Emmany Kolombo is announced as the winner vs. Shiva Thakran and successfully defends his belt.
NFL’s African prospects
Roy Mbaeteka made history in 2022 when he became the first player from Osi Umenyiora’s Uprise programme to play for an NFL team – albeit in pre-season.
Mbaeteka played for the New York Giants against the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals, but has been in and out of the practice squad throughout the course of the season.
The year also saw the inaugural NFL Africa Touchdown camp in Ghana, so there is now a new crop of talent waiting to follow in Mbaeteka’s footsteps and perhaps surpass him.
Nigeria’s Basil Chijioke “CJ” Okoye, Kenneth Odumegwu, Jason Godrick and David Agoha all made the cut for the NFL International Player Pathway Program (IPPP) Class of 2023 from that camp. They are joined by fellow Nigerians Haggai Ndubuisi and Kehinde Oginni.
Across the NFL itself, African talent is on full display, with the likes of Joseph Ossai of Nigeria (Cincinnati Bengals), Foyesade Oluokun (Jacksonville Jaguars), and Emmanuel Ogbah (Miami Dolphins), amongst many others from Africa, reaching the playoffs.
The NFL airs on ESPN in Africa, and includes the Super Bowl on Feb 12. 2023.
UFC
After a mixed 2022 for African UFC fighters, the upcoming year is expected to be another full of thrills and spills.
Kamaru Usman was on the receiving end of a brutal knockout by Leon Edwards at UFC 278 in a rematch which saw him pick up only the second loss of his MMA career. The Nigerian-born fighter is likely to use the year ahead to return and attempt to settle the score in a trilogy fight.
We are also likely to see a return from the heavyweight champion, Cameroon‘s Francis Ngannou. Since beating Ciryl Gane by unanimous decision in January at UFC 270, he has had to undergo time on the sidelines due to a knee injury.
Nigerian-born Israel Adesanya suffered his first UFC middleweight loss to Alex Pereira in November at UFC 281 and will also be eager to return to the ring as soon as possible.
Keep an eye, too, on South African duo Dricus du Plessis and Cameron Saaiman – both of whom had fantastic years in 2022. They became the first pair of South Africans to fight at the same UFC event at UFC 282, with Saaiman beating Steven Koslow and Du Plessis getting the better of Darren Till.
Men’s Cricket World Cup
South Africa’s men’s cricket team will be looking to finally end their torrid run at World Cup tournaments, which they failed to do at the T20 World Cup in 2022, where they shockingly missed out on a semi-final place despite beating India, who will host the upcoming ODI World Cup (October – November).
First, they will have to get through the qualification process, with five games against England and the Netherlands early in 2023.
Zimbabwe still have a chance of qualifying and will host a qualification tournament from June 18 – July 9.
Women’s T20 World Cup
South Africa will host the Women’s T20 World Cup from February 10-26 and will be Africa’s lone representatives at the tournament.
They have been placed in Group A alongside Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Having reached the semi-finals in 2014 and 2020, this could be a chance for them to break their duck and progress further.
1:02
Tait – Management of fast bowlers will be critical this year
“I don’t think playing all three formats consistently can happen,” says Pakistan fast-bowling coach
FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup
Five teams will represent Africa at the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
Ivory Coast are the only African team to have officially booked their place at the time of writing. South Sudan are well on course to qualify, while competition for places remains tight. Qualification is scheduled to finish on February 27.
Netball World Cup
Cape Town is scheduled to play host to the Netball World Cup from July 28 to August 6 – the first time the event will be held in Africa.
There will be 16 teams present at the World Cup, and South Africa – coached by Australian legend Norma Plummer – will be joined by Uganda, Malawi and Zimbabwe as the African representatives.
SA, Malawi, and Uganda are all ranked in the top 10 teams in the world, from 5 to 7 respectively, and will be no placeholders during the tournament.
Hockey World Cup
The men’s Field Hockey World Cup will take place from January 13-29 in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, India.
South Africa will be the only African representatives after winning the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2022 in Accra, beating Egypt on penalties in the final after a 1-1 draw.
The South African women’s team finished 15th at the 2022 World Cup in Spain and the Netherlands, where they were also the only African team competing.
Men’s Rugby World Cup
The Springboks will look to defend their men’s Rugby World Cup title in France in September after losing out on hosting rights to Les Bleus.
South Africa are in Pool B with Ireland, Scotland, Tonga and Romania. Meanwhile, fellow African representatives Namibia are in Pool A with New Zealand, France, Italy and Uruguay.
Tennis
For African tennis fans, 28-year-old Tunisian star Ons Jabeur is the player to watch in 2023. Having lost the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open in 2022, she will be looking to finally claim a Grand Slam title this year.
Jabeur, who is ranked second in the world, is the highest-ranked African and Arab tennis player in WTA and ATP rankings history.
The USA’s Frances Tiafoe, the son of Sierra Leonean immigrants, also impressed in 2022 with a semi-final at the US Open. He, too, will look to show in 2023 that it was no fluke.
IAAF World Athletics Championships
The 2023 World Athletics Championships will be held in Budapest from August 19-27. The 2022 championships, delayed by a year, saw Ethiopia finish second in the medals standings and Kenya fourth. Both long-distance running powerhouses claimed 10 medals.
Other
South Africa’s Brad Binder has been inching closer to contention for the MotoGP world championship in recent years and will hope that 2023 is the year he can finally bridge the gap to the leading pack after successive sixth-place finishes in the last two years.
South Africa and Kenya continue to be the leading representatives for the continent in the 2022/23 World Rugby Sevens Series.
Meanwhile, preparation continues for the 2024 Paris Olympics, as well as qualifying for the men’s Africa Cup of Nations football, which will kick off in January 2024 in Ivory Coast.
ESPN in Africa is the Home of American Sports, airing the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB. Additionally, ESPN airs soccer by way of the Dutch Eredivisie, Belgian Pro League, EFL Championship, and Scottish Premiership. ESPN Africa Boxing and the Basketball Africa League also air on ESPN.