By Tony Nezianya
Lagos- At the close of expression of interest to bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, two cities – Edmonton, Canada and Durban, South Africa – met the deadline.
However, with the pull out of Edmonton from the race, having announced that they would rather be focusing on the 2026 Games’ bid, Durban would be the only country expected to file the bid on March 2, in London.
“This appears a significant leap forward because Durban now has only itself to run against in the run to the bid process,’’ said Habu Gumel, Nigeria’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) member.
Nigeria had bidded unsuccessfully on 2004, bidded for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which Glasgow eventually won.
The question now is, does the withdrawal of Edmonton translate into automatic award to Durban?
According to an official of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Janette Harkess, the withdrawal of Edmonton Bid from 2022 Commonwealth Games does not mean an automatic award of the hosting rights as they have to go through an award process.
Harkess, a Media Officer of the federation, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) from her London base that Durban would still have to follow the due bid process as prescribed to win the hosting rights.
She said that bid lodgement would take place on March 2 in London at which Durban would be expected to formalise the bid process.
She noted that thereafter, an evaluation commission would be expected to provide a report after a period after not less than six month — covering inspection of facilities to ensure that conditions stated in the bid document conformed to facilities on ground.
According to her, the committee will provide a report to be presented to the General Assembly, where all 71 nations and territories will vote to award the hosting rights.
In a comment after the announcement made by City of Edmonton on Feb. 10, that it was pulling out of the 2022 bid, David Grevemberg, Chief Executive of the CGF said: “We are obviously disappointed to hear Edmonton will not be part of the host city bidding process for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“The Edmonton bid team, in collaboration with their partners, have worked hard to lay the foundations of a great bid and we will work closely with them as they focus all efforts on bringing the Commonwealth Games back to Canada — where the Commonwealth Games first began — in 1930 in Hamilton.
“We now look forward enthusiastically to working with the Durban 2022 Bid team and their partners through the evaluation process, so, together as a Commonwealth sporting movement we can realise the ambitions of delivering Africa’s first Commonwealth Games.
“I’m confident that there will be a great 2022 Commonwealth Games to follow on from the fantastic experience of Glasgow and the dynamic Games currently shaping up in the Gold Coast for 2018.
“We will continue to engage with CGAs, cities, communities and citizens to ensure the 2022 Commonwealth Games can create a world-class sporting stage for elite athletes of the Commonwealth as well as make a positive and lasting contribution to the legacy ambitions of a proud African Commonwealth city and its people.’’
A former President of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Dan Ngerem, hailed the withdrawal of Edmonton saying: “Their loss will be the gain of South Africa”.
He enjoined the Durban bid team to redouble their efforts at ensuring that they would meet the stringent requirements by CGF to win the hosting right.
“They (South Africans) must make the bid an African bid by ensuring they carry all African members of the Commonwealth family along”.
Banji Oladapo, the Vice-President of the African Table Tennis Confederation (ATTF), said he was confident that Durban would do a good job of it.
“South African now has a track record as past hosts of the rugby and FIFA World Cups.”
For top Nigerian IOC member, Gumel: “I want to congratulate Durban in advance, believing that they will keep to the spirit and letters of the Commonwealth Movement by meeting all the set conditions.
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“In the spirit of the African members of the Movement we will leave no stone unturned in our determination to offer the necessary support to the South Africans to succeed.
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“We are all brothers, committed toward securing this important hosting right for Africa, particularly because this will be the first on the African soil.
Durban is on South Africa’s east coast and now the only option for 2022, but the bid committee said it had noted Edmonton’s withdrawal was still following “due process with its own bid ahead of the March 2 deadline to lodge papers.
Spokesman Faizal Dawjee said Durban would meet the deadline.
The CGF said it was confident there would still be “a great 2022 Commonwealth Games.”
“We are obviously disappointed to hear Edmonton will not be part of the host city bidding process … we now look forward enthusiastically to working with the Durban 2022 bid team,” said David Grevemberg, Chief Executive of the CGF.
Durban’s intention to host the Games has been viewed as preparation for a possible South African bid to host the Olympics, either in 2024 or 2028.
However, South African officials have yet to commit to an Olympic bid in spite of the country being considered a good contender following its widely praised hosting of the 2010 football World Cup, the first in Africa.
Explaining Edmonton’s decision, Mayor Don Iveson said the expected Games cost of about C$1 billion (NZ$1.07b) was too high for Alberta’s declining economy.
Edmonton is not new to hosting the Commonwealth Games as it hosted in 1978. The next Commonwealth Games in 2018 will be held on the Gold Coast, Australia.
There is no doubt that Durban bid will be welcomed by all African delegates to the CGF as this will once more offer the African continent of opportunity of benefiting from the immense opportunities offered to previous hosts of the competition. (NAN)