Sport in Ivory Coast
Cote d'Ivoire is also known as the Ivory Coast, and is located in West Africa. Llike most African states, the people of Cote d'Ivoire adore football. A football field is common in pretty much every village and every city tends to have at least one football club. The Ivory Coast have hosted many major African sporting games like the African Cup of Nations in 1984 where their national team finished at a respectable 5th place. They have also played in the World Cup in Germany, South Africa and Brazil from 2006 to 2014.
Even though football is still their most popular sport, other team sports like basketball and rugby union are steadily gaining popularity. The Ivory Coast hosted the 1985 African Basketball Championship where they took the gold medal. They recently hosted the same event (2013). Their rugby team is also not a pushover. Their national rugby union team qualified for the 1995 Rugby World Cup held in South Africa.
The Ivory Coast have been participating in the Summer Olympic Games since the 1964 Tokyo Games, missing only the 1980 Moscow Games. To date, the only athlete from Cote d'Ivoire who has won an Olympic medal is Gabriel Tiacoh who took the silver for the men's 400 meters in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Ivory Coast. Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please let us know.
Popular sports of Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast Sporting Success
- Winners of the Africa Cup of Nations in 1992 and 2015
Great athletes from Ivory Coast
- Didier Drogba (football)
- Yaya Toure (football)
- Marie-Josee Ta Lou (Track and Field)
Ivory Coast Sports trivia
- The only athlete from Cote d'Ivoire who has won an Olympic medal is Gabriel Tiacoh who took the silver for the men's 400 meters in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
- They have qualified for 3 consecutive World Cups, 2006 - 2014, and in all three cases they failed to move beyond the group stage.
Ivory Coast at major events
- Ivory Coast at the Summer Olympics
- Ivory Coast at the FIFA World Cup
- Ivory Coast women's football team at the FIFA Women's World Cup
- Ivory Coast at the Rugby World Cup
Past sporting events hosted in Ivory Coast
- 1984 African Cup of Nations
- 1985 African Basketball Championship
- 2013 World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships
- 2013 AfroBasket
- 2017 Jeux de la Francophonie - held in Abidjan
Upcoming sporting events in Ivory Coast
- 2024 African Cup of Nations (Football)
Annual sporting events held in Ivory Coast
Sporting Facilities in Ivory Coast
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