The Focus: Major sporting events & competitions in the East African market this year.

“Sports in the E.A. market”

There are various reasons to be deeply excited about the East African sports market this year with several sporting attractions lined up. The market with a population of over two hundred eighty-five million (285 million) people is trying to position itself as a regional and global powerhouse in sports by attracting key global events while building its own homegrown sporting attractions.

Last year saw the return of sports leagues and competitions in various disciplines after a period of uncertainty and business losses affected by the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Local leagues in the region resumed without fans due to the country’s COVID-19 restrictions. The two rugby powerhouses in the region resumed their rugby operations with Kenya opting for both 15s & 7s in preparation for the RAC Gold Cup (world cup qualifier) games slated for 3Q22 in France and the HSBC Tour heading into its fifth leg in January while Uganda focused heavily on their sevens tour series hosting all legs successfully. In Rwanda, the country held the inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL) featuring twelve teams. Rwanda also managed to play host to the CAVB Women and Men Championships 2021.

What is on the plate this year?

1. KENYA

Kenya will play host to big sporting attractions this year after securing rights to host global events while at the same time, local organizations are slowly growing homegrown events with sights to reach global levels. The East African nation will play host to different sports competitions such as:

Agnes Tirop Cross Country Classic (Gold) (February 12th 2022)
DP World Tour 2022 Golf (March 6th-9th)
Kip Keino Classic (Gold Tour) (May 7th)
FASU Games 2022 (June 6th-10th)
Esports WRC Championships (Virtual Track) (June 17th– 20th)
WRC Safari Rally (June 23rd – 26th)
Local Sevens Series (May 7th-June 26th)
Safari Sevens (TBC)

2. UGANDA

The Pearl of Africa will play host to a roster of Badminton Competitions after securing rights for the Badminton Confederation Africa Games 2022. Uganda will play host to the following series;

All Africa Men’s & Women’s Team Continental Championships Badminton (February 14th-17th)
All Africa Individual Championships International Series Badminton (February 18th-20th)
Uganda International 2022 (February 24th-27th)
Uganda Junior International 2022 Future Series (February 28th – March 2nd)
Rugby Africa Men’s Sevens Cup (April 23rd – 24th)
All Africa Para-Badminton Championship 2022 (September 12th – 18th)
Uganda Para-Badminton International 2022 (September 18th – 25th)
Local Sevens Series (TBC)

3. RWANDA

The “Land of a Thousand Hills”, with its iconic indoor arena and futuristic approach to sports management is making great strides towards attracting global events such as the World Road Cycling Championships 2025 and the Basketball Africa League 2022 Playoffs & Finals.