Published on : 30/09/2020 – 12:00
Ethiopia will replace Lesotho as host of the next African Youth Games, scheduled for 2022, announced the African Olympic Committee (Acnoa). The Lesothians, too late in the preparations, however recover the organization of the fifth edition, supposed to take place in 2026.
Ethiopia will therefore host the African Youth Games (ADJ), an event reserved for athletes aged 15 to 18, after Morocco (2010), Botswana (2014) and Algeria (2018). This is not what was expected, Lesotho having been designated in July 2018 host of this fourth edition. But the small kingdom had accumulated for two years much delay in the preparations and the appointment of a new organizer was hardly in doubt.
On September 29, 2020, the African Olympic Committee (Acnoa) therefore formalized the change. ” The 2022 African Youth Games awarded to the city of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, indicates a press release from Acnoa. The Ethiopian government having committed to host this event with excellent conditions ».
The stakes are high for many young athletes on the continent because they will already be deprived of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG). The 2022 edition of the YOG, scheduled for Dakar, has indeed been postponed by four years, because of the new coronavirus and the many postponements (Tokyo Games, World Athletics Championships, etc.) caused by this pandemic.
Lesotho recovers JAJ 2026
Lesotho has not lost everything, however. ” The 5th African Youth Games of 2026 will be organized by the city of Maseru in Lesotho, continues the statement from Acnoa. This follows the agreement between the president of Acnoa, the Minister of the Government of Lesotho and the Olympic Committee who agreed after various talks that the country will not be ready in 2022 as initially planned due to the related economic difficulties. at Covid-19 ».
This 2026 edition of the JAJ will have a strong stake since it will be qualifying for the Youth Olympic Games of Dakar, the very first “Olympic Games” organized on African soil.
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