African leaders you did not know were sportspeople

Day in and out, many top African personalities tell of how they went through sleepless nights and empty stomachs for days to get to the top. It’s very common to see many entrepreneurs on TV or at conferences reminding the youth to stay focused and go through the struggle.

But in the midst of all this, it is very uncommon to hear presidents or political leaders in general talk about their past life. Once they get into office, it is almost as if they spent all their life waiting for their turn in office and have never been anything else.

While several great African leaders spent a majority of their time in school or part of one organisation or the other, a few also dedicated their time to playing sports that they were very active in until they took a political or diplomatic path.

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Here are 5 African leaders who were very active sportsmen and women long before they became prominent leaders.