Senegal interested in hosting 2022 Summer Youth Olympic Games

According to recent reports, Senegal has reportedly emerged as a potential contender to be an African host of the 2022 Summer Youth Olympic Games.

It serves an IOC Executive Board proposal to "actively approach" African National Olympic Committees to measure their interest in hosting the next edition to be awarded, which has been brought forward from 2023 to 2022. IOC member and Olympic and Sports Committee of Senegal President Mamadou Ndiaye told L'Equipe and Agence France-Presse that his country is "ready to apply" for being the host as soon as they receive the specifications. In French media, he said, "We have recently renovated or built a lot of sports facilities and infrastructure." It has also been reported that Morocco and South Africa are currently considering a candidacy. "The Executive Board wants the Summer Youth Olympic Games 2022 to take place in Africa," IOC President Thomas Bach said earlier this week. "The Executive Board decided today to propose African continent a strong priority for the host. "Therefore we will, if the Session approves this, proactively approach some African NOCs." Buenos Aires will host the third Summer Olympic Games in October to follow the first two editions in Singapore and Nanjing in 2010 and 2014 respectively. No country in Africa has ever hosted an Olympic Games event. South Africa's Cape Town came closest when reaching the candidature stage of the 2004 edition, but Athens was nominated that year. Cairo in Egypt also bid unsuccessfully for the 2008 edition awarded to Beijing. South Africa hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Morocco is also bidding to host the 2026 edition of football's flagship event. Durban in South Africa has already been stripped of the 2022 Commonwealth Games after failing to meet a series of fiscal deadlines.