Almost 20 years after the birth of the idea, only the fourth edition of the African Youth Games are underway in Angola this month. With the 2022 edition cancelled due to scheduling issues, it took until this past summer in Algeria before the continent's youth aged 14-17 were finally able to compete against each other again. The inaugural African School Games (ASG) were a success, and a reminder of how important these events are for young people.

The African Youth Games (December 10-20), with 14-17 year olds from across the continent are competing across 33 sports. The inclusion of two traditional board games, Kiela and Wela, are a nod to African heritage and allow for cultural learning.

"It's a good idea to do sport development to host events to give opportunity to the youth," Bella Bello Bitugu told DW.

"The question you ask yourself is, what happens from now? For example, this is the third one Ghana has participated in and we have the biggest contingent, 70 people are coming. So what happens after that? Where is the monitoring, where are the facilities, where are the programs at home?"

Bitugu is a senior lecturer at the Department of Physical Education and Sports Studies at the University of Ghana. He has studied in Ghana and Austria, and specializes in development through sport. He is also a former a technical advisor to Ghana's minister of youth and sport.

A case of sportswashing?

Bitugu is also curious about the motives behind a country facing ongoing criticism over its human rights record investing so heavily in sports recently. This past summer, the men's basketballers hosted and won Afrobasket. It was the 12th time they have won the continental basketball championship. In mid-November, Lionel Messi's Argentinadrew a huge crowd for a friendly in Luanda as part of the country's celebration of its 50th independence anniversary. Messi scored as Argentina won 2-0. The event drew a huge, enthusiastic crowd.

"I will say this [sportswashing] is something that maybe you can also attribute to Angola," Bitugu said.

"Finally let us give them some good news about us, let us open up the system, let us do some gimmicks, let us do some demonstration of peace, of we having everything... Principally a great idea, but we want to question why Angola, why now?"

The country has also invested in infrastructure. Mitrelli, a Swiss-based international company focused on infrastructure projects across Africa, developed the Bengo Paralympic Sports Complex in Angola's Bengo province. This state-of-the-art facility covers more than 20 Olympic and Paralympic disciplines, and can house 250 athletes. The complex opened in time for the Youth Games, and while clearly a step in the right direction in terms of development there, Bitugu wonders whether it will be sustainable.

"Are they going to turn into the white elephants?" he asked. "Because you know sporting facilities are very, very expensive and are in themselves not profitable. You need to combine it with non-sporting activities if you don't get a constant flow of money from government. But you cannot always rely and depend on the government for money."

Sports a universal language for youth in Africa

The sustainability of these events looms large, which feels especially relevant given this event also serving as a qualifier for the Youth Olympic Games in Senegal next year. Ultimately, the main purpose of these events is to provide the young people of Africa with the opportunity to gain their first taste of international competition and take the next step in their development.

"Active Africa, winning Africa, peaceful Africa, united Africa – all of these things are things sports provide," Bitugu explained.

"These are the strengths of sports. Unfortunately in certain instances they are abused and misused but these are potential things when you bring the young people together, they understand each other, they have a collectivity.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for peace, unity, tolerance, fairness and understanding, especially at this time in our world where we look more at our differences, at money."

Bitugu hopes that both these Games in Angola and the ones next year in Senegal can find a way to return to a more human-focused approach.

"There is too much monetization of sports, too much commercialization and the human element is losing such that people who go into sports don't even think of anything other than winning and money."

The hope is that the legacy of the Youth Games in Angola, and indeed the Youth Olympics in Dakar next year, is of sustainable investment in young people. Competition matters, but regular opportunities to develop the values that sports provide matter even more.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold