{"id":40443,"date":"2026-07-23T18:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=40443"},"modified":"2026-07-23T18:29:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:29:00","slug":"senegal-marks-100-day-countdown-to-momentous-dakar-2026-youth-olympics","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/senegal-marks-100-day-countdown-to-momentous-dakar-2026-youth-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Senegal marks 100-day countdown to momentous Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Africa is officially 100 days away from a milestone moment in sporting history as Senegal gears up to host the continent\u2019s first-ever Olympic event.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games will kick off on October 31, bringing roughly 2 700 young athletes together to compete across 25 sports. Events will take place in Dakar, Diamniadio, and Saly, with local organisers confirming that preparations are right on schedule.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the push for podiums, the Games carry a heavy focus on long-term regional legacy. Rather than pouring funds into new construction, organisers have upgraded existing sporting facilities. At the same time, the event is providing hands-on training for young Africans in sports operations, technology, and venue management.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials say Dakar 2026 offers a prime stage to showcase the continent&#8217;s rising sporting talent and vibrant youth to the rest of the world.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40444,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-40443","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Dakar 2026 countdown hits 100-day mark as Senegal steps up hosting preparations","published_date":"2026-07-23 18:13:03","news_description":"Dakar 2026 countdown hits 100-day mark as Senegal steps up hosting preparations","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40445,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40443\/revisions\/40445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=40443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}