All Africa Games kick off today in Congo Brazzaville

Congo-Brazzaville is playing hosts to the 11th edition of the All-Africa Games which start today in the Central African State.
The games run between September 4 and 19.
Brazzaville, the Congolese capital hosts the games for the second time after hosting the inaugural edition in 1965 where 30 nations participated.
A total 2 500 athletes were in the Central African State.
This time, Brazzaville plays host to more than 50 African countries as the first edition was held while some nations were still under colonial rule.
The games met resistance from colonial powers who felt they influenced African nationalism as they acted as a unifying force.
Since their introduction in 1965, several editions were postponed due to problems facing the continent.
In 1966, the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA) was formed in Bamako; it manages the All-Africa Games.
The second edition was awarded to Mali in 1969, but a military coup forced the cancellation of the Games.
Lagos, Nigeria, stepped in as host for the Games in 1971.
The Games were finally held in 1973 after the end of the Biafra War, in Nigeria.
In 1977, the third edition of the Games were scheduled to take place in Algeria, but due to technical reasons, they had to be postponed for a year and were held in 1978.
Continuing the pattern, the next Games were scheduled to take place in Kenya in 1983, but were pushed to 1985 and finally took place in Nairobi in 1987.