Earlier this month, Formula 1 announced that they have signed a new deal with Rwanda such that the African nation will host a Grand Prix throughout the 2030s. This will be the first time the sport has come to Africa in over 30 years, making it a monumental moment. Additionally, just a little further east, Nairobi (Kenya) will host the World Athletics Championships in 2029 after outbidding London, Rome and Munich, which will be the first ever time that this event be hosted in Africa. 

These two opportunities, as well as Morocco’s successful bid to co-host the World Cup in 2030 with Portugal and Spain, demonstrate the rise in hosting sports by African nations, with the hopes that this will encourage more young African athletes to become invested and encouraged to try the sports. However, is it all positive?

Kenya in particular has received a large amount of criticism over its capability to host. This has been due to the numerous doping suspensions that Kenyan athletes have received recently, as well as the facilities required to host such a large and popular event. While the facilities have been upgraded considerably, including transportation and accommodation, the concerns about doping have not been managed as successfully. Between August 2025 and March 2026, 27 Kenyan athletes were suspended due to either doping or whereabouts failures. While it is difficult to prevent cheating entirely, it is incredibly important for the host country to present a fair and clean front. This is for the benefit of the athletes and organisations involved, but more importantly for the audience watching, including young athletes who are easily influenced. This is not to suggest that doping scandals are covered up, but instead to promote a shift towards more honest competition. Even major newspapers such as The Times were openly critical of the decision to award Kenya the championships, with chief sports correspondent Matt Lawton publishing a particularly negative piece on the decision. 

There is not such a scandal surrounding the decision to award Rwanda a Grand Prix, but there are still questions. An African Grand Prix is likely to be better for F1 –  but in what way? Will it increase the interest in the sport or make the sport more diverse? Sure, it might bring more African fans into the sport and more people may buy F1 merchandise, watch the races and follow the drivers as a result. However, it can be argued that it is unlikely to make the sport more diverse. This is because the amount of money required to start out in karting (a quasi necessity if you want to become an F1 driver), as well as the money required to develop through the karting and youth motorsport ranks, is massive. F1 is considered one of, if not the most expensive sport to be a part of. Furthermore, not only is it necessary to have a huge amount of money to be able to invest in the sport, but there also needs to be investment in racing facilities, as well as a scouting system to actively identify talent. Currently, Africa does not have much in the way of such facilities in place, nor do many African families have the funds to seriously support a budding racing driver’s ambitions. A huge shift in thinking and investment is required  from many people, but as it stands, your writer believes that there are too many barriers in the way for an African Grand Prix to have a serious impact on the number of African drivers coming through the ranks. 

The revenue generated by people travelling into the country through RwandAir, to stay in local hotels, eat at local restaurants and generally spending beyond the race venue for that one weekend a year could be life-changing.

Having said that, it is important to consider that F1 consists of not only racing drivers, but also engineers, mechanics, event organisers and many more. The Grand Prix in Rwanda could increase interest in careers that perhaps young adults hadn’t considered.

There has been a lot of criticism over the hosting of sports championships in African countries for the aforementioned reasons, but the benefits of doing so – to inspire younger athletes, encourage children who want to get involved in different parts of the sports, bring together communities and boost the local economy – are undeniable. The last of these is perhaps where Rwanda hosting F1 will have the biggest impact. Hosting the sport is extraordinarily expensive, requiring dedicated transportation, accommodation and catering, even for just one weekend a year. But the revenue generated by people travelling into the country through RwandAir, to stay in local hotels, eat at local restaurants and generally spending beyond the race venue for that one weekend a year could be life-changing. This was seen in Malaysia, which generated over £170 million in revenue in 2026. Hopefully we will see a similar trend in Rwanda. Additionally, circuits often allow people to volunteer around the circuit, allowing them to partially view the racing without paying the steep prices for the tickets. F1 is often a go-to for big corporations to take clients, and this could further boost Rwanda’s tourism. This extensive list of reasons as to the benefits of bringing more sport to Africa far outweighs, in your writer’s opinion, the criticisms received by the nations. 

It’s also important to remember that hosting isn’t the only thing that countries can do to increase interest in a sport. Successful athletes from those nations can also increase visibility. This was seen after Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade’s success in the Olympics caused hundreds of young girls to sign up to classes just in her home town alone. Increasing national funding in the sport facilities and competitions is also crucial to allow young athletes to see their progression. However, hosting sports is probably the most effective way of boosting its visibility while benefitting the economy, making it a great thing that more African nations are hosting global sporting events.