South Africa's Olympic governing body -- SASCOC -- has "called for support from other African nations as the country prepares its bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games," according to Wesley Bottom of THE CITIZEN. Speaking to representatives from 16 African Commonwealth countries in Gaborone, Botswana, on Sunday, SASCOC President Gideon Sam said that South Africa "needed support from their neighbours." No African country has "hosted the quadrennial Commonwealth showpiece, which has been held 19 times since the inaugural event" in '30 (THE CITIZEN, 5/27). THE NEWS INTERNATIONAL reported the Commonwealth Games are "seen as a springboard for South Africa to possibly also launch a bid to hold the Olympics," either in '24 or '28. Edmonton, Canada, has "also announced its candidacy" for the Games (THE NEWS INTERNATIONAL, 5/27). SPORT24 reported cities "must lodge their bids to host the 2022 Games" by March '15. The winning candidate will be announced in Sept. '15. SASCOC CEO Tubby Reddy said in a statement, "We are once again ready to invest in the hosting of a mega event" (SPORT24, 5/26).
