Africa, the share of sport in the economy
It is difficult to assess the true share of sport in GDP across the African continent, as it is clear that this share varies greatly from one country to another. In Morocco, for example, this share is estimated at 1%.
The study of market shares in the sports business also shows that Africa only picks up crumbs. Africa is barely present in global statistics. The continent is undergoing globalization but benefits very little from it. Africa only plays the role of talent reserve; a kind of nursery.
The weakness of Africa's weight in the world economy is glaring here. The continent benefits little from the financial windfall from sport, just as it benefits little from the fair value of the wealth it “generously” offers to the world economy.
The very nature of sporting activity generates this anachronistic situation. Sport in America or Europe and increasingly in Asia as well, lives in part thanks to the talents that only Africa can provide on a genetic and phenotypic level. Many sports, particularly the most popular and economically promising, require particular qualities and human potential that fit perfectly with the type of young people Africa abounds with. It is almost the only continent to offer this particularity.
There is also the informal economy which has established itself as a saving palliative for young people since it allows them to benefit from cheap sports equipment. Even counterfeit or second-hand, this particularly individual equipment still allows a certain practice at a certain level. This informal activity, if encouraged and guided, can constitute the basis of a local sports economy and move into the formal sector.
Aziz Daouda