9th All Africa Games a prelude to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (photos attached)

Updated：2007-07-24

(BEIJING, July 24) -- The 9th All Africa Games hosted in Algiers, Algeria concluded with a closing ceremony Monday at the July 5th Stadium in Algiers.

The stadium was alive with enthusiasm from the more than 6,000 athletes from 52 participating African countries and spectators. Some athletes even showed off their other performance skills such as in dance and garnered loud applause from the audience.

The closing ceremony came after the last event of the competition -- the men's football final, in which Cameroon defeated Guinea 1-0 and defended their gold medal from the 8th All Africa Games hosted in Abuja, Nigeria in 2003.

The All Africa Games torch was relit for the closing ceremony, where it would be symbolically extinguished.

In 34 years, this is only the second time that Algeria has hosted the All Africa Games. While their preparation work fell short of perfection, the competition nevertheless sparked a lot of enthusiasm.

In a speech at the closing ceremony, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Mr. Jacque Rogue expressed, "This year's All Africa Games demonstrated the talent and ability of the African athletes."

For many teams from South Africa, Kenya, and other African countries the 2007 All Africa Games was a good opportunity to warm up for the Olympic Games. The South African swim team head coach stated, "Our main goal is next year's Olympic Games."

The 2007 All Africa Games encompassed 27 sports and disciplines. The ever-growing competition has become somewhat of a burden on its organizers due to a lack sponsors.

Mr. Djaafar Yefsah, Head of the African Games Organizing Committee (COJA), suggests that the All Africa Games be used as a trial competition for the Olympic Games. This way, perhaps more athletes will be inclined to participate and thereby attract more attention from sponsors.

After 12 days of competitions, Egypt led with 74 gold medals, followed by Algeria, with 70 gold medals. South Africa came in third.

The 10th All Africa Games will take place in the Zambian capital of Lusaka in 2011.