Africa – (WARSOOR) – For decades, African athletes have traveled all over the world to take part in the Olympic Games. At the recent Tokyo Games, they took home gold, silver and bronze medals. And yet Africa has never hosted the Games, and some people are asking what it would take for the Olympics to be held on African soil.
In Kenya, thousands cheered on one of their favorite long-distance runners, Eliud Kipchoge, who won the gold medal in the men’s marathon. One Kipchoge fan had a special request for the government: Develop the country’s sports infrastructure.
“We are very happy, all of us from Rift Valley and Kenyans as a whole. … [But we] just [want] to implore our leaders to address the issue of stadiums. … The Kipchoge Keino Stadium is dilapidated. And today, Kipchoge has shown the world that we are more than capable,” said Mandela Kiplimo, a resident of Eldoret, about 40 kilometers from the Olympic champion’s hometown of Kapsisiywa.
Having subpar sports facilities that don’t meet international norms is one of the biggest challenges for countries that want to host the Olympic Games. For many of them, it’s just too expensive, said Smith College economics professor Andrew Zimbalist, who edited the book Rio 2016: Olympic Myths, Hard Realities.
“You might read, for instance, that in Tokyo they spent roughly $15 billion, or that in Brazil or Rio 2016 they spent $12 to $15 billion. But the real numbers in Tokyo are above $35 billion, and the real numbers in Rio are above $20 billion,” Zimbalist told VOA.
Source: VOA