The Indian Ocean Island Games () is a quadrennial multi-sport event from Indian Ocean island nations. The Games was created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1977 and currently gather the island nations and territories of Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, Réunion and the Maldives. The number of athletes who participate has increased over the years, it went from 1000 athletes in 1979 to over 1500 participants in 2003 and 2007 and over 2000 participants in 2019.
Origins From 1947 until 1963, a precursor called Indian Ocean Games Triangulaire was organized between Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion. In 1963, a football match in Madagascar between Mauritius and Madagascar was abandoned at 1–1 after 54 minutes, and Madagascar declared themselves as winners of the tournament. After this match Mauritius refused to play and the tournament was not held again.
In 1974, the Regional Olympic Committee of Réunion decide to organise a multi-sport competition in the Indian Ocean. This was adopted by the International Olympic Committee in 1976. The competition was initially called the 'Indian Ocean Games', but the name was changed to the 'Indian Ocean Island Games' before the first games, without the participation of Sri Lanka, which was initially included.
The objectives of the games are to contribute to regional cooperation through the development of sport in the region; build friendship and mutual understanding between the peoples of the islands of the Indian Ocean, in the spirit of Olympism; allow athletes to have, every four years, a competition whose interest and level are commensurate with the real sport of the region; and create a regional event whose repercussions will ensure the development of infrastructure of countries in the area. In 2019 the games involve 7 islands, 14 disciplines and 2,000 athletes.
IOIG Games Five countries participated in the creation of the Games: Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Mauritius, Comoros and Reunion. They drafted the Charter of the Games. Originally, the Games were to take place every four years, however this frequency was not observed from 1979 to 2003.
YearEditionDateHost countryHost citySportsEventsReference 1979 Saint Denis13111 1985 Curepipe 13120 1990 Antananarivo 14151 1993 Victoria13164 1998 Saint Denis16176 2003 29 August – 3 September Moka 13194 2007 7 9–19 August Antananarivo15245 2011 8 5–14 August Victoria 12187 2015 9 1–8 AugustSaint Denis14214 2019 10 19–28 July Port Louis 13223 2023 11 23 August – 3 September Antananarivo 20315 2027 12 Future event Moroni 2029 13 Future event Malé
CJSOI Games The Indian Ocean Youth and Sport Commission (CJSOI) Games. 13th of Indian Ocean Island Youth Games was held in 2025.
XIII CJSOI Games, was held in Seychelles from August 1 to August 10. The games will feature 11 sporting events, including football (U17), athletics, swimming, and more. This will be the third time Seychelles has hosted the games, having previously done so in 1999 and 2008.
Participating countries 1979 1985 1990 1993 1998 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 Total Comoros✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✗✓9 Madagascar✗✓ ✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓9 Maldives✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓10 Mauritius✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓10 Mayotte✗✗✗✗✗✓✓✓✓✓5 Réunion✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓10 Seychelles✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓✓✓✓✓✓10 Mauritius includes the islands of Rodrigues and Agaléga. In 2003, Mayotte participated together with Réunion as France Indian Ocean.
Events
Athletics Badminton Basketball Boxing Cycling Football Handball Judo Karate Pétanque Rugby Sailing Swimming Table tennis Taekwondo Tennis Volleyball Weightlifting Wrestling
All-time medal table As of 2015.
2003 France Indian Ocean medals have been counted for Réunion.
See also Indian Ocean Games Triangulaire Island Games Southern African Games (CUCSA Games) Central African Games East African Community Games (EACoG) East African Schools Games (FEASSSA Games) West African Games
References
External links Official website of the 7th IOIG Official website of the 8th IOIG Official website of the 9th IOIG Official website of the 10th IOIG