The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) have confirmed the host cities for both the 2022 African Youth Games and the 2023 African Beach Games. The Egyptian city of Cairo is set to hold the continent’s premier multi-sports competition for youth athletes, while Hammamet, Tunisia will host the second edition of the African Beach Games.
Confirmation of both cities as hosts was given by ANOCA President Mustapha Berraf during a recent video conference that included members of the ANOCA Executive Committee. Berraf confirmed the commitment of both countries to staging successful editions of the African multi-sports games.
Both Mehrez Boussayene, President of the Comité National Olympique Tunisien, and Sharif Elerian, Secretary General of Egyptian Olympic Committee, confirmed their organization’s support for hosting the African sporting events. The pair also confirmed the support of their respective national governments.
The 2022 African Youth Games are set to take place in August, with the 2023 African Beach Games scheduled for the following summer. All 54 National Olympic Committees (NOC) associated with the ANOCA will be eligible to send delegations to the respective multi-sports games.
Cairo will be the third city in North Africa to host the African Youth Games. The African Youth Games were last held in Algiers, Algeria in 2018. Previously, Rabat, Morocco and Gaborone, Botswana played host to the African youth sporting event. Gaborone remains the only sub-Saharan city to have hosted the African Youth Games.
Hammamet will follow Sal, Cape Verde as host of the 2023 African Beach Games. Sal hosted the inaugural edition of the African Beach Games in 2019, marking the first time the Atlantic island chain had hosted a multi-sports competition. The event was widely seen as successful, with the Olympic Channel even broadcasting select events.
The two newly confirmed host cities also complete the full calendar of ANOCA multi-sports games for the next cycle. Along with Cairo and Hammamet, Accra, Ghana will complete the cycle when the city hosts the marquee sporting event of the continent, the African Games, in 2023.
The attention of the African sporting community likely remains of the 2022 Winter Olympics, however, as a select few athletes representing the continent prepare to compete at the major winter sporting event. The 2022 Winter Olympics are set to begin on February 4 in Beijing.