"Tour d'Afrique": how sport helps people get to know the African continent too

Geoffroy Fierens, the promoter of "Tour d'Afrique", spoke exclusively to Sport News Africa. In this interview, the Belgian went into much more detail about the game, its aims and, above all, its sport section.

What exactly is the game about?

Geoffroy Fierens: The game is a virtual journey around the map of Africa, played on a board made up of coloured squares. The colours correspond to themes: history, geography, art, nature and sport. They are all multiple-choice questions, naturally about the 54 countries of the continent. The aim is to roll the dice. The number of squares shown on the dice tells players how far to move. They can do this up to three times in a row.

After 3 correct answers, play passes automatically to the next person so it isn't always the same player. From 2 to 6 people can play. The game is for ages 7 and up, and you can keep playing it as long as God gives us life.

You make your way around the map by moving your counter. It's a sort of friendly race. Once you've completed the virtual lap of the map, the aim is to land on the Africa square by rolling the dice and answer one final question of your choice for a symbolic victory.

How does the sport section of the game work?

Geoffroy Fierens: The sport section of "Tour d'Afrique" works in the same way as the other categories. We ask multiple-choice questions about figures from the world of sport. We ask about the honours records of various countries. It covers the Olympic Games, AFCON, the Pan-African Games and the Tour du Rwanda. It covers all the events in which Africans have taken part, or which have been held on African soil. It's a fantastic showcase.

What are its benefits?

Geoffroy Fierens: It's very enjoyable to play with family and friends. You can play to test yourself. But above all, you can play to learn. It's a game about learning about Africa, for those who don't know it or don't know it well enough. So the aim of this game is discovery. The benefit of multiple choice is that you can take part without necessarily knowing the right answer. Sometimes you can guess it or fall back on what you already know.

"The aim in distributing the game is to expand across Africa through national versions "

In the various videos, it's clear that there are several games in one, ludo, draughts... What is the aim?

Geoffroy Fierens: The aim of "Tour d'Afrique", beyond just playing a game, is to offer simple, positive publicity for Africa. It's about getting people to put down their screens. About getting people talking again from time to time. The aim is also to create a dialogue between generations. The questions are there to give a starting point for debate. Those who know about certain subjects will keep discussing them during or after the game. The elders will teach the youngsters what they know and what there is to know. I think it's really good to communicate and share constantly.

The aim in distributing the game is to expand across Africa through national versions. There is already a Senegalese version. A Togolese version will soon follow. A version in the DRC will be available shortly. The aim is to get as many people as possible playing, exchanging knowledge, insights and thoughts on Africa.

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Can you tell us more about Africa Tour?

Geoffroy Fierens: It's the English-language version, which is doing very well, based out of Pretoria, in Johannesburg. The game sells in huge numbers in South Africa but also in neighbouring countries, Namibia and Mozambique, and further afield too, because Kenya is also a customer. It's very pleasing to see lodges and schools buying the game.

Why popularise this game on the African continent and what benefits do you expect?

Geoffroy Fierens: The benefit is popularising it. What I'd really like is for people to take hold of the questions and take them out of the box. The small cards can be used on buses, in the street. It's very easy to play shorter games. You don't necessarily have to use the board. The fun is there and the knowledge seeps in. Africa is a very young continent, the youngest in the world. Play means youth. That's why we'd like to distribute the game widely in Africa. The subject is the heart of this game; interesting people in Europe or America who are passionate about Africa is already a success. But doing it even more on the motherland, that's definitely the challenge.