By Barrie Alpha

Sierra Leone duo Joseph Techman Kany, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, and National Sports Authority (NSA) Director of Participation and Sustainable Sports, Steven Keifala, contributed during the African Union Sports Council Special Technical Committee Meeting on Youth, Culture, and Sports held at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, Ghana.

The primary focus of the meeting centred on deliberation on the presentation from the African Union Sport Council Advisory Board. The Board proposed Egypt as the country that meets the standard to host the 14th Edition of the Africa Games in 2027, following the withdrawal of DR Congo’s bid.

Additionally, discussions revolved around the preparation for the African Games 2027 and beyond, encompassing its roadmap for future events.

However, Sierra Leone’s participants seconded the motion on Ghana’s initiative to designate Accra as the African Sport City for the period spanning 2024 to 2027, and this was unanimously endorsed by the sport experts during the meeting.

Subsequently, the Ministers of Sports from the participating African countries convened in the afternoon to review and approve the various recommendations put forward by the Special Technical Committee. Egypt emerged as the chosen host for the 2027 African Games, while Accra was officially designated as the Sport City for 2024.

It was agreed as part of the recommendation that guidelines should be developed to ensure African countries that host the African Games are automatically declared the City of African Sports after hosting.

This recommendation came as an acknowledgement and encouragement for the huge investment undertaken to host the African Games.