The Chairman of the Nigeria Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko, has confirmed that Nigeria is bidding to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the 2031 African Games. Dikko is seeking support from the African Sports Ministers Council to help Nigeria secure the hosting rights for both events.
“We’re hoping that maybe this time around, we should be able to get the 2030 Commonwealth Games and we should be able to make Africa very proud via that event if we get the opportunity,” Dikko said.
Nigeria previously bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2009 but was unsuccessful. Dikko believes that with the support of African Sports Ministers, Nigeria can secure the hosting rights for the 2030 edition.
In addition to the Commonwealth Games, Nigeria is also bidding to host the 2031 African Games. Dikko revealed that a letter has been sent to express Nigeria’s interest in hosting the event, and the country is awaiting further conversation.
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“We’ve already sent an indication that we’d be ready to host the African Games in 2031,” Dikko said. “We want to see how that can go ahead.”
Nigeria has previously hosted the African Games twice, in Lagos 1973 and Abuja 2003. The country is also set to host the African Youth Games in 2027.
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event that brings together athletes from across the Commonwealth of Nations. Africa has never hosted the Commonwealth Games, despite almost half of the countries in Africa being members of the Commonwealth.
The African Games is a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the Association of African Sports Confederation. The event has been held 13 times, with the last edition taking place in Accra, Ghana in 2023 and Egypt will be hosting the next edition in its capital Cairo in 2027.
With Nigeria’s bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and 2031 African Games, the country is hoping to make a mark on the international sports scene and showcase its capabilities as a host nation.