Lesotho to host 2022 African Youth Games

Lesotho is set to host the 2022 African Youth Games...

Lesotho has been confirmed as the host country of the 2022 African Youth Games.

The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) confirmed its approval of Lesotho’s bid at its Extraordinary General Assembly held on Tuesday the Algerian capital, Algiers.

The meeting took place before the start of the third edition of the African Youth Games which began Wednesday in Algiers and end next Friday.

The Republic of Congo was also reportedly interested in staging the 2022 event but Lesotho’s was the preferred choice of ANOCA.

The 2022 Games in Lesotho will be held in Maseru and the tentative dates are February 25 to March 6, 2022.

The slogan for Lesotho’s bid was “One Voice: One Africa: Sport Speaks”.

The 2022 Games will be the fourth edition of the event which was first held in the Moroccan capital Rabat in 2010.

Botswana’s capital Gaborone then hosted the second edition of the quadrennial Games in 2014, before Algiers this year.

The African Youth Games are for athletes aged between 14 to 18 years and their goal is to contribute to the development of African sport and the growth of Olympic values across the continent.

The Games are also expected to feature education and cultural programmes seeking to promote the arts and culture of the host country and Africa as a whole.

The awarding of the 2020 Africa Youth Games marks the first time Lesotho has been awarded an event by ANOCA with the country having never staged the senior African Games or African Youth Games before.

The 2022 African Youth Games are set to be the biggest sports event hosted by Lesotho to date.