Nigeria hosted the 8th edition of the All Africa Games in 2003. The All Africa Games which is now known as the African Games are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and the Association of African Sports Confederations (AASC).
It is an Olympics-styled sporting event for the African continent and the first Games were held in 1965 in Brazzaville, Congo.
The 8th All Africa Games were held between 5–17 October 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria . 53 countries participated in 23 sports. The main venue was the newly constructed
Abuja Stadium .
The opening ceremony took place on 5th October 2003 and was officially declared opnt by President Olusegun Obasanjo.
22 disciplines were contested at the 2003 All Africa Games and at the end of the Games, Nigeria led the medals table with 85 gold, 90 silver and 65 bronze medals. Egypt were second with 80 gold, 62 silver and 72 bronze medals while South Africa rounded off the top 3 with 63 gold, 59 silver and 49 bronze medals.