Can Africa Host A World Championships
IAAF president Lamine Diack told CNN “I think you could have a good bid from Africa in 2019, 2021, I think that there is a country and an African city that can organize it.” South Africa proved it was possible in 2010 when they hosted perhaps the most prestigious of all tournaments, the FIFA World Cup. The event took place without a blip contrary to what many people feared when it was announced that South Africa was to host the event.
South Africa saw their tourism increase by 5% during the World Cup period meaning an additional 250,000 visited the Rainbow Nation during the months of June/July. After the World Cup South Africa saw continuing growth in tourism, many of whom were spreading their time between a safari in this wondrous nation as well as heading on a Kenya Safari. Many people want to experience more than one country when they head out to Africa so these types of combination safaris are very popular. Neighbouring Botswana also saw an increase in tourism during the World Cup with many people opting to spend some of their time in the famous Okavango Delta whilst staying at one of the country’s premier resorts, Chiefs Camp.
If South Africa is to be used as the benchmark in Africa then what’s stopping another nation in Africa from successfully hosting a huge event? Well several things in fact. South Africa didn’t have much in place when the verdict was announced the World Cup was to take place there, it had to build most of it from scratch. Not only did infrastructure have to be improved but there was also a demand for highly skilled workers. The problem face by many other Africa countries is the simple fact many don’t have the money to build these new facilities and infrastructure. There are a few countries that could stand up to the challenge including Egypt, Kenya & Morocco.
Diack also said “I think if you have a vision of development in your city, athletics can do that” The tourism industry would certainly boom in the country that won the games and accommodation like the Jao Camp in Botswana would more than likely see a vast increase in tourism during the time of the games along with many other tourist attractions on the continent.