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Rabat – The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) has visited Morocco to discuss the possibility of Morocco hosting the 2019 All-Africa Games (AAG).
The visit came earlier this month after Equatorial Guinea announced in November that they could not organize the 2019 games. The sports news outlet Inside the Games reported Tuesday that “falling oil prices and economic problems” were the reasons behind the withdrawal.
The meeting was attended by ANOCA vice-presidents Mustapha Barraf and Joao Costa Alegre; Morocco’s Minister of Youth and Sport, Rachid Talbi Alami; and President of the Association of African Sports Confederations Ahmed Nasser.
Since no announcement of a new host was made at ANOCA’s Extraordinary General Assembly held yesterday in Algiers, the organization could propose Morocco to replace Equatorial Guinea.
Morocco has been given 10 days to confirm a host city for the event.
ANOCA officials tend to support Morocco for hosting the continental event although Nigeria expressed its interest in hosting, the sports outlet noted.
Zambia’s Lusaka was also reported to be a potential host of the 2019 AAG, but no confirmation has been made yet.
Morocco has not participated in the AAG for almost 30 years due to the African Union’s position on Western Sahara.
Since Morocco was readmitted to the AU last year, the 2019 games would be its first participation in the sports event since the 1978 AAG in Algiers.
The AAG are a multi-sport event held every four years. The competing nations come from the African continent and must be affiliated with the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA). The 2015 games were held in Brazzaville, Congo.
