Too much podium, not enough pathway: Rethinking disability sport in Southern Africa

Black man sitting in a red sport wheelchair holding a tennis racket.

Elite athletes in Africa receive funding, training, and media coverage. But below them, the ladder is missing rungs. The result? A system that rewards a few—and leaves most behind.

by Jennie Wong and Sheila Cleo Mogalo

In many African countries, the focus in disability sport is at the top - elite athletes receive funding, training, and media coverage. But below them, the ladder is missing rungs. Participation pathways are fractured. Youth competitions are scarce. Classification systems are inconsistent. Sport assistive technology is often unavailable. This leaves many athletes without the tools they need to train, compete, or even begin their journey in sport.

Africa is present on paper—but invisible in practice. At the Paralympic Games, 27% of national members are African nations, but only 7% of athletes in Paris were African. In Special Olympics, the continent hosts 20% of national programs, yet contributes just 7% of athletes. At the Deaflympics, formal regional qualifiers only began in 2021. Overall the continent contributes less than 10% of global athlete participation.

Region 5: A quiet disruption with big intent

In Southern Africa, a new model is quietly taking shape. Since 2014, the AUSC Region 5 Youth Games—a biennial multi-sport competition—has consistently included visually impaired (VI) athletics. It remains the only regional Youth Games on the continent to do so.

In 2023, Malawi deepened the commitment: athletes were formally classified, and their results sanctioned for international competition.
This administrative shift changed everything: visibility, validation, and viability. Athletes are now broadcast on national TV. Their stories made national headlines.

For Moses Misoya, a visually impaired Paralympian and youth games medallist 2023: “Sport gave me an opportunity to leave my home village and represent Malawi. I’m now a role model to other learners with disabilities.”

“Sport gave me an opportunity to leave my home village and represent Malawi. I’m now a role model to other learners with disabilities.”
- Paralympian Moses Misoya

Watching Para sport has impacts on families too. A parent at a community viewing said: “At first I thought my child had no opportunities in life. But watching his fellow colleagues who have disabilities has given me hope… He has a bright future and all I have to do is encourage him.”

The 2023 Youth Games marked a turning point in Malawi — for the first time, Para sport was the headline, not a side story.

Now, as Namibia prepares to host the 2025 edition (4–13 July), Region 5 is scaling its ambition. This year marks the first inclusion of Special Olympics athletes alongside visually impaired athletes—a step toward greater integration. And critically, plans are in place to incorporate Deaflympics disciplines in future editions, further widening the spectrum of disability sport represented at the youth level.

Policy-level commitment: Breaking silos for real inclusion

The progress doesn’t stop with Games initiatives—the Games is opportunity to influence wider, cross-cutting inclusion policies. On 6 July 2025, during the Games, Region 5, will host the first-ever Inter-Ministerial Forum on Health, Education, and Sport. Under the theme, “Breaking Silos”, Senior representatives from Ministries of Health, Education, and Sport across Southern Africa will gather to co-develop joint frameworks addressing:

Inclusion and sport assistive technology
Investment in quality physical education
Sustainability and green infrastructure in schools and sports spaces
Smart public-private partnerships

The Forum will also set in motion a regional commitment to embed disability sport in national policies, cross-ministerial strategies, and co-financed delivery models—ensuring disability inclusion is not just thematic, but systemic.

From showcase to system change

Region 5’s model may not grab global headlines now, but it is revolutionary. It’s about who gets to compete. And that is the true infrastructure African disability sport needs.

In Nigeria, disability sports were first introduced as demonstration events at the National Sports Festival (NSF) in 2016, when cerebral palsy football was included in Calabar, Cross River State. This marked a key step in bringing disability sports into one of the country’s premier sporting platforms.

Institutional support deepened in 2020, when the Federal Government approved the creation of the National Sports Festival & Para Sports Department within the Ministry of Sports. Operational by October 2021, this move signalled a long-overdue recognition that disability sports deserve equal standing alongside mainstream sport in national development agendas.

These shifts—regional in Southern Africa, and national in Nigeria—show that systems can evolve when commitment is matched with structural reform.

As the world eyes Tokyo 2025 (Deaflympics), Santiago 2027 (Special Olympic World Games) and Los Angeles 2028 (Paralympic Games), the global sport community has the opportunity to see what could look like to invest in Africa’s base—not just its summit.

Five shifts that must happen

To create a truly inclusive disability sport movement in Africa, we need more than goodwill.

We need action:

Decolonise investment and funding

Donor-defined priorities have dominated decision-making over where money flows. A shift is needed to invest in local systems to deepen long-term capacity, moving beyond elite urban hubs and short-term visibility.
Support participation over podium finishes

Prioritise access—transport, nutrition, sport assistive tech, and clubs structures.
Build the base of the pyramid

Fund school and community programs where future champions begin.
Scale what’s working

Invest in models like Region 5 that demonstrate scalable, inclusive growth.
Invest in storytelling that changes the narrative

Elevate athlete voices before they win. Invest time and funding into regional broadcasts, youth-led media, national media coverage, and public engagement that challenge stereotypes and normalise disability in sport.

Conclusion: Inclusion is not a theme—it’s a system

A charity-mindset has undermined our progress. We need strategic, sustained, investment in sport as a tool of empowerment, solidarity and equity. The Inter-Ministerial Forum and the Region 5 Games are bold steps in that direction—not just to integrate disability sport, but to embed it as a core part of how we build the future.

This kind of transformation not be instant
Real system change takes time
It is not linear—it requires learning, iteration, and adaptation
Success in disability sport will come not through isolated victories, but through consistent engagement with complexity, feedback, and context

Most importantly, this work demands an ecosystem mindset.
National Paralympic Committees or national federations cannot operate as islands. Real inclusion involves educators, healthcare providers, sport assistive tech developers, families, local governments, and the disability rights community. These actors aren’t optional—they are foundational.

Because if we continue to measure success only by gold medals, we’ll keep asking why so few African athletes make it to the top—while ignoring the broken rungs beneath them.

Now is the time to act. Not just with more funding—but with better intent, stronger partnerships, and the courage to invest in systems, not symbols.

About the authors

Jennie Wong and Sheila Cleo Mogalo are core contributors to the Para Sport Against Stigma initiative and advocate for inclusive sport systems across Africa.