Exclusive -- IOC Member Rules Out South Africa 2028 Bid

(ATR) Sam Ramsamy tells Around the Rings a 2028 Olympic bid from South Africa will not materialize, as the IOC should jointly award the 2024 and 2028 Games.

"South Africa will definitely not submit an Olympic Bid for 2028; maybe 2032," the IOC member from South Africa said.

Talk of an African Olympic bid for 2028 stems back to the 2013 reelection of Lassana Palenfo as president of the Association of African National Olympic Committees. Palenfo upon his reelection for a third mandate said that ANOCA should target a bid for 2028 from the continent. His comments were echoed by IOC President Thomas Bach two years later at the 2015 ANOCA General Assembly.

After Rio 2016, Africa remains the only continent to not host an Olympic Games. The last African Olympic bid to make the IOC shortlist came from Cape Town, South Africa for the 2004 Olympics. South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup, which was seen as a successful precursor to a potential Olympic Games.

Last month, Durban was stripped of hosting the 2022 Commonwealth Games due to uncertainties regarding its preparations. Hosting a multi-sport event like the Commonwealth Games was seen as another precursor for an Olympics.

Ramsamy said the decision to bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games was "last minute" after which the "process got complicated."

"The CGF insisted on a total government guarantee for all expenses," Ramsamy said. "[The process] would not harm a subsequent [African Olympic] bid. We are now bidding for the Rugby World Cup 2023 and it is on course."

A future African bid could be delayed by the IOC itself as it works through a tough decision on the race to host the 2024 Olympics. After numerous withdrawals only Los Angeles and Paris remain in contention to host the 2024 Games. Currently an IOC working group is tasked with exploring the possibility of jointly awarding the 2024 and 2028 Olympics at the 2017 IOC Session in September.

Ramsamy said he is in favor of the proposal given there is an "ideal opportunity" to lock in two big cities for the next two Summer Olympiads.

"We have two formidable cities with wonderful histories," Ramsamy said. "We should not miss this opportunity for awarding both Games at the forthcoming Session. One city would have a long preparation stage."

Homepage: Wikimedia Commons

Written by Aaron Bauer

25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.