“I received Egypt’s bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games in a very good impression and we will support Egypt,” Bach told Egyptian Sports TV channel ONTime Sports.
“It will a fantastic thing if Egypt hosted the Olympic Games as it will the best atmosphere for athletes around the world,” the IOC president added.
Late on Saturday, Egypt Minister of Sports Ashraf Sobhy revealed that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has given the country’s sports authorities the green-light to make a bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games.
The announcement came after El-Sisi met Bach in Cairo earlier in the day.
“It is brilliant to witness all the progress in Egypt and the development of Egyptian sports,” Bach said.
“I didn’t find any [other country that] doubled its medals from 3 to 6 medals in the two events respectively so it could give a huge confidence for the Egyptian side ahead of Paris Olympics 2024,” the IOC boss said, referring to Egypt’s improved performance in previous editions of the games.
Paris will host the upcoming Olympic Games in 2024, Los Angeles in 2028 and Australia’s Brisbane in 2032.
Another statement released by Egypt’s presidency quoted Bach as saying that he has the utmost confidence in the country’s abilities to stage the Olympics, singling out for praise the newly-established Olympic City in the New Administrative Capital, some 45 kilometres east of Cairo.
“I watched a very big progress in the infrastructure in Egyptian sports as I visited the Olympic City and watched more buildings,” he added.
“Egypt is putting the foundation stone for Africa,” Bach said, praising Egypt’s role in leading the continent’s development of sports infrastructure.
The sprawling complex will include a 93,440-seat football stadium, which will be the second largest in Africa after Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium, as well as an Olympic-sized swimming pool, two sports halls, squash and tennis courts and other facilities.
Egypt is seeking to become the first African country to host the Olympics, a quadrennial showpiece.
The country has hosted several international sports events over the past few years, including football’s African Cup of Nations in 2019 and the World Handball Championship last year.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link:
Discussion about this post