The International Olympic Committee said it is satisfied with the country’s sporting facilities and infrastructure at the Abuja National Stadium and its environs.
The leader of the delegation and Associate Director for the 2022 Youth Olympic Games, Antoine Goetschy, made the remark when the four-man delegation paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, in his office at the National Stadium Abuja on Tuesday.
Goetschy expressed satisfaction with the infrastructure on ground and said they will send their report for further processing.
He said: “We visited many of the sports facilities that you can find here in the federal capital. We also saw the very large constructions made in 2003 when you hosted the All Africa Games. We have seen all we need to see and we will build the best reports possible.
“We discussed delegation of responsibility which is division of labour. We need to know who is in charge of what as a general principle. There are some facilities that will need a bit of upgrade and refurbishment or temporary additional facilities like grandstand or lighting and we will like to know how this is provided.
“We saw different options of accommodation for delegations and officials and we need more information on this. Besides this, the involvement of the young people is a key element to make sure the event is delivered for, by and with young people.”
In his response, Dalung reiterated the Federal Government’s resolve to support the bid to host the 2022 Youth Olympic Games.
He said: “The Federal Government will come in with a dedicated budget on an annual basis to put in place some of the major infrastructure, if given the hosting rights. We will also carry the private sector along. We are going to host the National Sports Festival soon so that will be a prelude to some of these facility upgrades.”
Botswana, Senegal, Tunisia and Nigeria are bidding to host the 2022 Youth Olympic Games.