The African Supreme Council of Sports has selected Mozambican capital, Maputo to host the 2011 edition of the All Africa Games, the continent’s largest multi-sports event. Mozambique will take over from Zambia, who pulled out last year citing the huge cost to stage the event. Mozambique has already confirmed their readiness to host the continent competition. The country’s deputy sports minister, Carlos Jose Castro de Souza, told the BBC’s African sports programme Fast Track that Maputo will be ready for the Games. “We have a sports complex in place, and in November next year the new National Stadium will be ready, for football and athletics,” he said. “So we only have major refurbishment to do to the infrastructure at the sports complex. We have lodging capacity for the athletes.” Current holders Cameroon are the most successful team in the men’s football event at the All-Africa Games, having won gold four times. Women’s football was introduced at the 2003 edition, with Nigeria winning gold then, and again in 2007. Rwanda took part in last edition’s event and returned back with no medal but they could only manage a fourth-place finish in half marathon courtesy of Dieudonne Disi. Paralympics, Cycling and athletics are the only sports disciplines where Rwanda was represented. However, following a poor participation in the last Games due to insufficient, nothing like adequate preparations have been stepped by the Sports Ministry to enable a better performance in the next event. Ends
