Rwanda has signed a 10-year deal with Formula 1 to host races in the African country, starting “in the early 2030s”.

The event – to be called the African Grand Prix – will be held on a new, purpose-built circuit in Bugesera, 25 miles south of the capital Kigali and next to the city’s new international airport.

It will be the first F1 race in Africa since 1993.

A statement from F1 said the project came as a result of “years of collaboration to ensure the right foundations, with the best partner, are in place to deliver a successful, sustainable and world-class grand prix for generations to come”.

The circuit, designed by the former F1 driver Alex Wurz, has been “designed to work in harmony with the natural landscape, using the area’s elevation changes to create a unique and challenging racing experience while delivering exceptional viewing opportunities for fans,” the statement added.

F1 hopes the race will provide an opportunity for the sport to expand its profile in Africa, a relatively unexplored market compared to Europe, Asia and the Americas.

It has not yet been established where the race may best fit into the schedule during the year.

The race is likely to be controversial as Rwanda has previously been accused of sportswashing.

The sport is likely to want to avoid holding the race in the main rain season of March to May. There is a shorter, less disruptive rain season from October to November.F1 is committed to keeping the season at no more than 24 races.

Rwanda President Paul Kagame said: “For more than three decades, the world’s premier motorsport championship has raced without this continent, and that changes with this agreement.”

“Rwanda is proud to host the Formula 1 African Grand Prix, and to share this moment with more than 100 million fans across Africa, many of them young people who deserve to see the sport at home and to see themselves in it: as engineers, technicians, entrepreneurs and, one day, drivers.

“The circuit in Bugesera, alongside the new international airport, will bring jobs, skills, tourism and new business to our country and our region for decades to come, because our aim was never a single race weekend, but a lasting benefit for our people.”

F1 president Stefano Domenicali said the new contract was “a landmark moment for F1”, which would mean the sport was racing “on every inhabited continent”.

Domenicali added: “Africa has always been part of Formula 1’s future, and from the beginning we were determined to return in the right way, with the right partner, a long-term commitment and a clear vision for creating meaningful impact.”

The National Sports Commission (NSC) has reshuffled the General Secretaries of several national sports federations in a major administrative shake-up aimed at strengthening operations and improving the performance of the bodies.

The Director-General of the NSC, Bukola Olopade, announced the changes yesterday during a meeting with the General Secretaries of the federations in Abuja.

“Let me be clear that no secretary is being removed because he or she has been sacked. They are only being posted to another federation to carry out another assignment,” Olopade said.

Under the new arrangement, Bunmi Oluode has been appointed the new Secretary-General of the Athletics Federation, replacing Israel Inwang, who has been redeployed to the Padel Federation.

Rita Mosindi will serve as Acting Secretary-General of the Basketball Federation, with her predecessor, Amina Amanchi, moving to the Rowing Federation.

Other appointments saw Tosin Samuel take over as Secretary-General of the Shooting Federation, while Tinuoso Dolapo was appointed Secretary-General of the Karate Federation.

Javan Bennard will head the secretariat of the Fencing Federation, while Dorothy Okpo becomes the new Secretary-General of the Arm Wrestling Federation. Olopade said the reshuffling was not a punishment for any of the affected secretaries but a strategic deployment of their expertise to improve the administration of the federations.

FIFA is expected to decide the venue for the 2030 World Cup final in 2028, a timeline that keeps Morocco’s push to host the showpiece at the Hassan II Stadium alive.

Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo reported that sources familiar with the process said FIFA does not plan to announce the final venue before 2028.

The reported timeline mirrors the previous World Cup cycle. FIFA waited until February 2024 to confirm New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium as the venue for the 2026 final.

That means the contest between Morocco and Spain remains open, despite increasingly confident statements from both countries over their preferred venues.

Morocco has made no secret of its ambition to bring the 2030 World Cup final to Benslimane, near Casablanca, where the Hassan II Stadium is under construction.

The stadium is expected to have a capacity of about 115,000. When completed, it would be one of the largest football stadiums in the world.

The project has become the centrepiece of Morocco’s bid to host the tournament’s closing match.

Fouzi Lekjaa, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, has repeatedly backed the ambition.