A new host is being sought for 2019 All-African Games after Equatorial Guinea’s reservations that they would no longer be able to organize the event. The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) Zone V president, William Blick has disclosed that he will be traveling to Morocco next week to try convincing the North Africa state to host the games. “We are struggling because Guinea turned down the hosting rights at the last minute. We are doing all possible to ensure the games take place. Failure to organize the event would be a credibility issue for Africa on global scene,” he pointed out. Blick further explained that effective 2019, the All-Africa Games will have a badge of qualifiers for the Olympic Games and the best performers in various disciplines will automatically book tickets for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – in Japan. Blick who was on a working in Kigali for ANOCA Regional Zone 5 Forum staged on June 27-28 at Hotel de Mille Collines. The African games have been held on 12 occasions since their inaugural edition in Brazzaville in 1965 - with the Republic of Congo’s capital also hosting the most recent edition in 2015. Equatorial Guinea were named as hosts of the 2019 edition in June 2016, in what would have marked the first time for the West African country to host the multidiscipline competitions. Being an oil-rich nation, ANOCA cited falling of oil prices on international market as the main reason for the withdrawal. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
