Africa

Etienne Lavigne, the director of the Dakar Rally at event operator ASO, has revealed that talks have taken place over the possible return of the endurance motorsport event to Africa from 2020.

Changes to the Fifa host allocation process ought to give Morocco a better chance of hosting the Fifa World Cup than on any of the four previous occasions the country has bid for the tournament. Ben Cronin visits four of the host cities within the proposed bid to assess the strengths and weaknesses of its candidacy. 

World football’s governing body Fifa has rejected the latest complaint from Morocco over the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup, while rival bidder United 2026 has sought to counter claims that it is receiving preferential treatment.

Sanzaar, the umbrella body for the national bodies of rugby union in Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, has hit out at ongoing reports over the future direction of its competitions, stating media claims are nothing but “unsubstantiated speculation”.

The International Olympic Committee has confirmed that four African national Olympic committees have registered an interest in staging the 2022 Youth Olympic Games.

The prospect of a return to Super Rugby expansion has emerged following details of a major strategic review embarked upon by Sanzaar, the umbrella body for the national unions in Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, that also outlines new events and reforms for the Rugby Championship.

US President Donald Trump has issued another thinly veiled threat to countries that would oppose the United 2026 Fifa World Cup bid led by the United States.

Fifa, football’s global governing body, has said that its secretary general, Fatma Samoura, has been cleared in an ethics case linked to Morocco’s bid to host the 2026 World Cup.

Fatma Samoura, Fifa’s secretary general, has been reported to the ethics committee of football’s global governing body after allegations emerged of alleged breaches relating to “duty of disclosure, co-operation and reporting” and “conflicts of interest”, according to UK public-service broadcaster the BBC.

International Olympic Committee vice-president Ugur Erdener has been appointed as chair of the organisation’s Evaluation Commission for the 2022 summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG), which the IOC is seeking to stage in Africa.

Fifa, football’s global governing body, will carry out an unexpected second inspection of Morocco as part of the bidding process for the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

World football’s governing body Fifa has been hit by the news that senior executive, Constant Omari, has been arrested in his home country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on suspicion of corruption.

Rwandan Cycling Federation (FERWACY) president Aimable Bayingana has said he is targeting bringing the Road World Championships to Africa for the first time.

Mark Alexander has been re-elected as president of SA Rugby, the governing body of rugby union in South Africa.

World football’s governing body Fifa has said its inspections of the bids put forward by United 2026 and Morocco 2026 for the World Cup will commence next week in Mexico City.

Morocco 2026 has courted controversy after a second government of a Caribbean nation declared its support for the North African country’s bid for the Fifa World Cup.