The African Paralympic Committee (APC) has set its sights on the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles after a historic milestone at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

Africa achieved a total of 64 medals, surpassing the 63 medals won at Tokyo 2020. The medals included 23 gold, 16 silver, and 25 bronze, won by ten African countries that made the podium.

North African countries Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, and West Africa’s Nigeria dominated the top five chart on the continent.

Samson Deen, president of the African Paralympic Committee (APC), expressed his pleasure with the performance of the countries but noted other challenges that must be addressed before the next Games approach.

“African athletes have shown that if our governments and our people lift up support, they are going to perform much, much better,” he stated.

Looking ahead to the Los Angeles 2028 Games, the APC and National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) will hope to qualify more athletes. A total of 312 para-athletes from 44 nations represented Africa, with nine countries sending just one athlete to Paris.

In the meantime, the APC has set its sights on finding a capable host for the 2027 African Para-Games after penning a deal with a European sports agency.

Samson Deen has called for a united front on the continent to strengthen the sport.

“The biggest challenge we have is disunity among the African people. When we are united, we have one message. If we are together, we can build a strong Africa in para-sports.”


APC President, Samson Deen

The Gambia’s chef de mission in Paris, Hagie Drammeh, remarked that para-sports have the potential to breathe hope into the lives of people with disabilities.

“There are many people with disabilities who do not believe sport is the way out. We need to get into most of the sports so that people with impairments... will have life in sports.”


JNA/BB