A divided house: the foundation and evolution of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa, 1965–2013

ABSTRACT In July 1965, members of the Permanent Committee for the First African Games, from diverse backgrounds, met in Congo Brazzaville three days before the games and discussed the formation of a supranational sport organisation in the continent. The Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA) was formally constituted in Bamako as a voluntary sport organisation in 1966. In 1977, it assumed the status of an agency of the Organisation of African Unity, until its dissolution in 2013. The SCSA is best remembered for its fight against discrimination in sport; instigation of boycott threats and the boycott of the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, and serving as the main host of the African Games. Based on hermeneutic enquiry, this research analysed archive materials from the International Olympic Committee Historical Archive and the SCSA in Africa Archive to establish a better understanding and interpretation of the internal and external divisions in which the SCSA operated. The historical enquiry provided evidence that, though the SCSA was not founded as a supranational governmental agency in sport, lack of a clear-cut vision and Africa’s political, economic and social realities hampered its efforts to effectively coordinate the development of sport in the continent.