5 - Sports’ Material Infrastructure and the Production of Space (1910s–1970s)

Summary

Where did the urban population do sports? Although briefly touched upon in previous chapters, this chapter looks more systematically at infrastructural and spatial aspects. Looking specifically at educational institutions, mostly located in Addis Ababa, the first part shows the different situations at schools and how creative teachers and pupils tackled the problems they faced. At institutions of higher learning; i.e. universities and colleges, which were established from the 1950s onwards with the help of a broad international spectrum of agents, sports continued to be a compulsory activity. Arguably, the success in intercollegiate competitions greatly depended on the (international) donor. The universities had to provide the necessary facilities not only for their students, but also as a service for the national and, most importantly, international staff members.

The vicinity of schools and colleges to playing fields and, more importantly, the first stadiums, created sports nuclei in Ethiopian urban centres. Especially during big competitions, opening ceremonies, athletic performances, the presentation of trophies by politicians, and other forms of ritual produced social spaces that served sports both as a physical activity in competition and as a spectacle for political power. Whether located in the capital or the provincial towns, stadiums fulfilled this double role in an exceptional way. Stadiums in newly independent African states that were built around the same time and often by the same foreign companies, signalled the new era with names such as Independence Stadium (Accra, Lusaka) or Stadium of the Revolution (Brazzaville). In contrast, stadiums in Ethiopia and annexed Eritrea bore names of important personalities such as Ras Alula and the Queen of Sheba in Asmara, Asfa Wossen in Dire Dawa or Haile Selassie I in Addis Ababa. The stadium in the provincial capital Mek’ele was named Kagnew Astadium – after Ras Makonnen's war horse.

In a similar vein, places of entertainment, tourism or work included sports in a number of ways. Cinemas and theatres became venues for boxing bouts and bodybuilding shows; sports facilities in hotels served for the recreation of guests, city-dwellers who could afford a membership card, as well as (college) sports clubs that had managed to negotiate access.