Namibia has stepped up to the plate to host next year’s prestigious 11th edition of the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Games, the Namibia Sports Commission announced at a press conference yesterday.

This follows Mozambique’s recent withdrawal from hosting the regional competition. 

The games are scheduled to take place from 5 to 11 May 2025, and all Region 5 countries, namely Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe are obligated to participate. An invitation to participate will also be extended to non-members.

The organising committee has 12 months to prepare for the games, and preparations are divided into four phases. 

CEO of the Region 5 Games Stanley Mutoya explained that phase one will look at capacity issues, phase two on support services, phase three will look at whether Namibia can host safe and secure games, and lastly, whether the games will be exceptional.

Mutoya added that Namibia already ticks most of the boxes on phase one, and they are confident they will be ready with all the other phases.

The youth games will feature around 3 000 athletes in 12 sports codes at various venues, including the Hage Geingob Stadium, DTS, SKW, Windhoek Show Grounds, Gymnasium Private School and Unam Stadium.

NSC chief administrator Freddy Mwiya said they will revamp some of the facilities to host the events, and will also look for partners to make this possible. 

Director of sports Jo-Ann Manuel said the project will keep them busy, but she believes in her team to pull it off.

Namibia successfully hosted the same competition in 2006, with last year’s edition having taken place in Lilongwe, Malawi.

-lmupetami@necp.com.na