FILE PICTURE: Gideon Sam during the SASCOC press briefing at Olympic House in Houghton on May 22, 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Duif du Toit/Gallo Images)
Speaking to representatives from 16 African Commonwealth countries in Gaborone, Botswana, on Sunday, on the sidelines of the African Youth Games, Sascoc president Gideon Sam, said South Africa needed support from their neighbours.
No African country has hosted the quadrennial Commonwealth showpiece, which has been held 19 times since the inaugural event in Hamilton, Canada, in 1930.
Glasgow in Scotland will host this year’s spectacle which starts in July, and Gold Coast, Australia, will hold the 2018 edition.
“We believe that it is our time. We have the infrastructure,” Sam, a vice-president of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) told delegates.
“Hosting the Fifa World Cup gave the country vital experience and the necessary infrastructure which includes big stadiums, world class swimming pools, athletic tracks and cricket clubs to name but a few.
“We ask for your support as our fellow African counterparts so that we win this bid and host this prestigious event in South Africa.”
South Africa have previously hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 1999 All Africa Games in Johannesburg, the 2003 Cricket World Cup and the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Sascoc chief executive Tubby Reddy believed the country was ready to add the Commonwealth Games to its list of international sports events.
“After hosting a successful Football World Cup in 2010 we continue focusing on the various aspects of society’s development,” Reddy said.
“We are once again ready to invest in the hosting of a mega event,” he added.
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