The sports that unite: sports diplomacy and development between China and Africa

Sports are increasingly emerging as a powerful connection that unites people, acting as a glue holding bilateral and multilateral relations through shared purpose and commitment to mutually beneficial relations development. 

Sports are a powerful, universal tool for achieving national and international development, including broader goals like the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They play a vital role in development by fostering physical and mental health, building life skills like teamwork and resilience, promoting social inclusion and national unity, curbing youth violence, and driving economic growth.

Sports provide immense economic opportunities that could drive sustainable economic growth and development, in addition to bridging adversities of human diversity and cultural experiences, especially where such differences sustain human prejudices. 

The global sports industry is a massive, multi-trillion-dollar market, with recent estimates placing its value at around $477 billion to over $600 billion. In 2024, the sports industry in Africa was valued at over $12 billion annually, with projections to reach $20 billion by 2035, driven by massive youth populations and growing digital engagement. However, the African continent only uses and benefits from a small global share of the sports industry due to a lack of infrastructure and the failure to exploit its significant potential in areas such as broadcasting, sponsorship, and sports technologies.

Many young people fail to advance their careers due to a lack of necessary sports infrastructures, financial and medical support, and sophisticated sporting systems. Competing priorities over resource allocation between national and continental development interests versus sporting priorities negate investment in sports and account for minimal deployment of resources in sports development, applied technologies, and basic infrastructure like stadiums.

The consolidation of broadening China-Africa relations, which now include sports and cultural cooperation, has rendered more impetus to addressing some of the challenges faced in the continental sports industry, allowing Africa to leverage sports for socio-economic transformation and development.

China-Africa sports cooperation has become a key part of mutually beneficial broader partnerships focusing on the development of sports infrastructure like stadiums, support for major tournaments, capacity building and training for African athletes and coaches, and support for major tournaments in the African continent.

China has actively supported the construction of sports infrastructure across the continent, helping to grow the cultural and sporting industries in African countries. The provision of financial support and Chinese participation in massive sports-related projects have unlocked broad-based opportunities for young people through job creation, improving the livelihoods of ordinary Africans.

Chinese partnerships have helped African countries to build high-quality and well-equipped stadiums equipped with a world-class inner field, athletic tracks, and lighting facilities. The modern infrastructure uses green technologies to reduce the continent's carbon footprint, aligning with Africa-China cooperation frameworks.

China-Africa collaboration in supporting major sporting events on the African continent has come as a major boost to Africa’s sporting capacity. Beijing has emerged as a major partner supporting national and continental events such as the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Youth Olympics, and the BRICS games, among others.

China has contributed to the construction of modern stadiums and facilities across Africa, enhancing the quality of sporting facilities and venues for continental competitions.

China supported the refurbishment of venues for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, to be held in Senegal, and the construction of stadia in Côte d'Ivoire. China also collaborated with South Africa towards the BRICS games, leveraging local sportswear companies to financially and materially contribute towards the games. 

In September 2025, Morocco received the first batch of a total fleet of 723 modern Yutong buses from China in preparation for the AFCON 2025. Morocco is hosting the AFCON continental soccer competitions. The buses will be used to transport teams, officials, and fans during AFCON 2025, providing efficient intercity mobility to soccer events and tourism sites.

The project is also linked to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal, requiring transport standards that meet the scale of continental and global football events as stipulated by both the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). The project,   the largest Chinese bus delivery in Africa, supports Morocco's infrastructure development for major global events while showcasing China's growing role in African transport, cultural, and sporting industries.

The buses come with customised climate-controlled, screen-equipped and features designed for Morocco's terrain, diverse climatic and geographical conditions, ranging from heat, humidity, and sandstorms to rugged slopes. These custom-built, high-end buses feature amenities like air-conditioning and screens. They are equipped with the Blue Core System, fuel-saving technology, as well as smart programs that improve efficiency and reduce energy consumption, aligning with Morocco’s sustainable development goals.

After the AFCON and FIFA World Cup competitions, the new buses will be integrated into Morocco’s transport sector to improve public transport services across the Kingdom’s major cities, unlocking new opportunities in the broader national economy and related value chains.

China is Morocco’s third-largest trading partner globally and its largest in Asia, with significant trade volumes in technology, green energy, and automotive sectors. Morocco is a key gateway for Chinese investment into Africa and Europe.

China provided financial support and participated in the construction of more than 40 sports facilities and stadiums in Africa, including six state-of-the-art host stadiums during the 2024 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) soccer competitions, solidifying comprehensive China Africa cooperation in sports.

Chinese enterprises were responsible for designing and constructing stadiums such as the Olympic Stadium of Epimbe, located in the city of Abidjan, the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San-Pedro and the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo.

Several China-Africa cooperation frameworks locate sports at the heart of diplomacy and development. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the BRICS, and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) among other initiatives embraces sports diplomacy as a catalyst for development. Within these frameworks, China supports sports-related skills development, including sporting exchanges and support towards emerging sports in Africa, for example, the Chinese support for badminton in South Africa.

 The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2025-2027) states that culture, tourism, and sports play an important role in facilitating people-to-people exchanges and enhancing mutual understanding between China and Africa. Under the Action Plan, China committed to supporting the development of mass sports and other sporting disciplines in Africa, including helping in the preparation of high-level African athletes to participate in world competitions.

China also plays an important role under the framework of South-South cooperation, fostering mutual development and advancing shared strategic, diplomatic, and economic interests through sports diplomacy.

The principles and frameworks of South-South Cooperation emphasise non-conditionality, mutual benefit, mutual respect, and shared development, moving beyond traditional donor-recipient models. The emphasis on mutual respect reinforces Africa's self-driven sports ambitions and the continental quest to chart an African path towards socio-economic transformation and modernisation.

China-Africa sports cooperation is a strong thread trying mutually beneficial friendship between the two sides. The intersection of sports, diplomacy and development is growing into a major platform to achieve shared Africa-China development and modernisation.

Gideon Chitanga, PhD is a Political Science and international relations analyst.