Abuja 2014 Commonwealth Games bid

Abuja 2014 Commonwealth Games bid

The Abuja 2014 Commonwealth Games bid was the unsuccessful bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games by the city of Abuja, Nigeria. The bidding race was won by the Glasgow 2014 bid after a 47-24 vote by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) General Assembly 9 November 2007 in Sri Lanka.

Background

The former Nigerian leader General Yakubu Gowon was the head of the Abuja 2014 Commonwealth Games bid team, he called for all Nigerians to support the games for the "glory of Nigeria". He suggested that Nigeria would be a prime location for the games because of its unity, serenity, topography and availability of standard sporting facilities. Abuja had recently hosted the All-Africa Games, The African regional version of the olympics, for which it constructed a world-class olympic stadium and games village. It was a hugely successful tournament with more than 7,000 athletes (and larger in size than any Commonwealth Games ever held). The 2014 Commonwealth Games would also be an integral part of national celebration plans for Nigeria's centenary.

The Abuja bid received strong support from African Commonwealth members (which make up the bulk of the Commonwealth) as well as Australia, in what would be the largest multi-sport event to be held thus far on the continent. Despite its number of members, no African country has ever hosted the games and is that last major continent, excluding South America never to have acted as host. The website, www.abuja2014.org simple said "...completing the Commonwealth Games Circle"

An article from Jonathan Clayton of the Times said:

Abuja airport would be modernised to cater for the sheer capacity of the influx due to the games. This would further boost their bid to host the games. A state of the art light rail transit system was included in the bid documents. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration announced that it had awarded a $841m contract for the construction of the system, which would be completed by 2012.

The Abuja 2014 Bid Committee issued a list of 17 sports that thay planned to host:
* Aquatics (Swimming and Diving)
* Athletics (track and field)
* Badminton
* Basketball
* Boxing
* Cycling (Road, Mountain and Track)
* Gymnastics (Artistic and Rhythmic)
* Field hockey
* Judo
* Bowls
* Netball
* Rugby sevens
* Shooting
* Squash
* Table Tennis
* Weightlifting
* Wrestling

The Abuja 2014 Commonwealth Games Bid, led by General Yakubu Gowon, submitted the Abuja 2014 Candidature File (Bid Book) on Wednesday, May 9, 2007 to the President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Michael Fennel, at a ceremony in London where Glasgow also submitted its Candidature File. Members of the Commonwealth Games Federation Executive Board and representatives of the Scotland and Nigeria Communities were also present at the ceremony.

Evaluation process

The Evaluation Commission visited Abuja between 4 June and 7 June 2007. The conclusions of the CGF Evaluation Commission were that "The Abuja Bid Committee submitted a Candidate City File which has the substantial and broad backing of the Nigerian Government. The Evaluation Commission submitted a number of issues to be clarified by Abuja and while most of these matters were addressed, a number of matters remain of concern and these are noted in the body of the report...and any decision to award the games to Abuja should be conditional on these matters being addressed"

General Yakubu Gowon, said that his country was also "confident", despite the adverse evaluation of its bid by a four-member team in September. The group's report found fault with the city's plans for budgeting, transport, legacy, marketing and venues. "As far as we are concerned our bid is not only an Abuja bid but an African bid," said General Gowon. "We are going there for a good, good fight, remember I am a general." [ [http://sport.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2208306,00.html Scotland and Nigeria await 2014 Commonwealth games verdict] ]

Final selection process

"A vote for Abuja means a vote for whole of Africa," appealed Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Desmond Tutu to delegates during the final video presentation to delegates before voting began.

Reaction

General Gowon accepted that the Games had been won by "a better presentation" but "The size of the vote for Glasgow was a surprise. We thought we had a very strong case for bringing the Games to Africa for the first time", he went on "It was a friendly battle and we hope we will win next time." [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/11/10/soknig110.xml 2014 Commonwealth Games joy for Glasgow] ]

Michael Fennell the CGF President, said:

The website simple said "We appreciate, all your efforts, contributions and for believing in us. Abuja2014 Bid Committee"

See also

*2014 Commonwealth Games bids
*Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games bid
*Halifax 2014 Commonwealth Games bid

Notes

External links

* [http://www.abuja2014.org/ Official Abuja Bid website]
* [http://www.thecgf.com/Abuja_CCF.pdf Abuja Candidate City File]
* [http://www.fct.gov.ng/NR/rdonlyres/CA6FA9F5-EF96-4F79-84DB-3E654C67388C/0/release_on_commonwealth_game_2014.pdf/ fct.gov.ng Abuja (Bid Announcement)]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Halifax 2014 Commonwealth Games bid — The Halifax 2014 Commonwealth Games bid was a withdrawn bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games by Halifax Regional Municipality, the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.The bid was eventually won by Glasgow (Scotland), who beat Abuja… …   Wikipedia

  • Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games bid — The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games bid was the successful bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games by the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It beat the Abuja 2014 Commonwealth Games bid to host the games, which will be held over 11 days, with the… …   Wikipedia

  • 2014 Commonwealth Games — XX Commonwealth Games Host city Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom Motto People …   Wikipedia

  • 2014 Commonwealth Games bids — Bids for the 2014 Commonwealth Games began from 24 February 2006 until the winner was announced on 9 November, 2007. Glasgow won the race and was selected by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) at a meeting in Sri… …   Wikipedia

  • 2018 Commonwealth Games — The 2018 Commonwealth Games is an international multi sport event that has yet to be organised by the Commonwealth Games Federation. The winning bidder will be announced in 2011.Potential bidsAfricaNigeria *flagicon|NGR Abujacite… …   Wikipedia

  • Abuja Stadium — Abuja National Stadium is an all seater national sports stadium located in Abuja, the rapidly developing Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. The stadium serves as a home to the Nigerian National Football Team, the Super Eagles, as well as a… …   Wikipedia

  • Commonwealth of Nations — For other uses, see Commonwealth (disambiguation). Commonwealth of Nations …   Wikipedia

  • Commonwealth Secretary-General — The Commonwealth Secretary General is the head of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central body which has served the Commonwealth of Nations since its establishment in 1965, and responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly.[1] The… …   Wikipedia

  • Major sports event hosting in Britain during the 2010s — The United Kingdom has been awarded, or is bidding to hold, a number of major international sporting events during the 2010s leading to an idea of a Golden Decade in British sport.[1] The idea of the golden decade has been discussed in many… …   Wikipedia

  • Youth Olympic Games — Not to be confused with Junior olympics. YOG redirects here. For other uses, see YOG (disambiguation). Youth Olympic Games …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”