Following the International Olympic Committee (IOC)‘s wish to have the 2022 Youth Olympic Games in Africa, Nigeria has submitted a bid to host the games.
Nigeria is one of four African countries bidding to host the games. The other three are Botswana, Tunisia, and Senegal.
According to ThisDay, making a video presentation in Abuja, the sports minister, Solomon Dalung, said the city of Abuja is ready as it has hosted other competitions in the past. he said:
I want to commend the IOC for developing a mechanism for Africa to be taken along through the changes introduced in the organisation of the Youth Olympics. I want to assure you that the capacity of the country to deliver is not in doubt. We will ensure that we package a brand of the Youth Games which after 2022, will set an agenda for the IOC to emulate.
Abuja is ready to host because we have hosted international competitions in the past. Moreover, the IOC has emphasised that countries seeking to host the games should not build new structures but improve on their existing ones or make use of temporary facilities which will be dismantled after the games. We have the organisational capacity, the experience and the technical know-how to host.
Abuja as a city has most of the requirements as enumerated to us by the IOC in a video presentation.
We hope that at the end of the day, Nigeria will be chosen to host the 2022 Games for Africa.