Nigeria will contest with Ghana and Burkina Faso for the hosting rights of the 2013 All Africa Games, Minster of Sports and Youths Development, Barrister Solomon Dalung has said.
Dalung, who disclosed at the Africa Union conference on sports, culture and youth development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian, said that Nigeria is ever ready to host its brothers and sisters if given the opportunity again.
Nigeria last hosted the All Africa Games in 2003 in the nation’s capital city of Abuja, having hosted the second edition of the quadrennial continental sport showpiece in Lagos in 1973.
If granted the rights, Nigeria would become the first nation to host the All Africa Games three times, as only Nigeria and Algeria have stage so far staged the games twice.
The North African country has hosted the continental sporting event in 1978 and 2007.
Nigeria is in the race alongside Ghana and Burkina Faso to stage the continent biggest sporting festival in 2023.
Nigeria, Ghana and Burkina Faso who have indicated interest to host the continental sports gathering have up to July 31, 2017 to submit their bids.
The sports minster added that with the availability of modern sporting facilities in Abuja and other cities of Nigeria, the country is ready to stage a festival that will reflect the desire of all Africans.
During the AU also marked the official handing the All Africa Games flag to the new host nation.
The Minster of sports of Congo, Alfred Opiumbat whose country hosted 2015 edition of the All Africa Games handed over the hosting flag to his Equatorial Guinea counterpart Mr. Andres Jorge Mbomio for the hosting of the 2019 edition of the Games.
The Africans minsters also observed a minute silence in honour of the two African football icons of the continent that recently passed on, Coach Stephen Keshi and Amodu Shuaibu.
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