Maldives has won the bid to host the 11th Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG) scheduled to be held in 2023.
Maldives won the majority of votes cast in the IOIG Council meeting convened to decide on the next host of the games. This decision comes as the result of several months of work by the Government of Maldives to secure the bid. The announcement to host is particularly special given the performance of athletes from Maldives in the ongoing edition of IOIG in Mauritius.
IOIG is an event deeply entwined with the sporting history of Maldives.
Maldives was one of the founding members of the games, which are held every four years and bids the island nations of the Indian Ocean to come together and compete with one another in several sporting fields. Maldives participated in every edition of the IOIG since its inception in 1979.
After securing the bid to host the games in 2023, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih expressed his elation at the council's decision. Further, to assuage voices who might be concerned at the prospective strain on the national budget, the president assured that any infrastructural development that is necessary to host the next games will occur within the overall framework of the National Development Plan to serve long-term needs.