More Medals, More Press: African Media Coverage of the 2022 Commonwealth Games

Abstract

In 2022, 72 teams competed in the Commonwealth Games. The continent of Africa sent more teams to the event than any other world region. However, few studies have examined the African perspective related to mega-sporting events. The current research utilized a comparative content analysis of online national newspaper articles published in African Commonwealth countries during the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Results indicated significant differences between the countries related to gender, national interest, and sport discipline. These findings extend research on the agenda-setting presence in sports media related to mega-sporting events. Theoretical implications related to agenda-setting as well as methodological suggestions for cross-national comparisons within countries in contexts in the Global South are discussed.

Keywords:

• African sport
• comparative content analysis
• gender
• national interest
• online newspaper

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.