( CNN ) -- The country that once put the Commonwealth Games in serious jeopardy could become the first from Africa to host the event . On Monday , the South African city of Durban joined Edmonton in Canada as the only bidders for the 2022 Games . Having never staged an Olympic Games , the bid has been described as a hugely significant moment for Africa . `` We 've done exhaustive background work and are now of the opinion the country is ready for a major multi-code sports event , '' said Gideon Sam , President of the South African Sport Confederation and Olympic Committe ( Sascoc ) . `` We are proud to announce our intention to bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games . It 's a huge step forward in our history - and that of the African continent . '' It is also a distant cry from 1986 when the Games took place in the Scottish capital Edinburgh . Now known as the 'Boycott Games ' , over half the 59 Commonwealth nations refused to compete in protest at the attitude of the government of Margaret Thatcher to sporting links with South Africa , which was then under apartheid rule . The 32 nations that stayed away mainly came from Africa , Asia and the Caribbean , and they put the Games under intense financial strain . Should Durban win the right to stage the 2022 Games , it would raise the question of when Africa might finally host an Olympic Games . When Brazil 's Rio de Janeiro stages the Olympics in two years ' time , Africa will be the only continent not to have hosted the world 's most important multi-sports event . Cape Town unsuccessfully bid for the 2004 Olympics while Sascoc had strongly considered bidding for the 2024 event before deciding against it . `` The ambition is to consider ( the ) 2024 ( Olympics ) , '' a Sascoc spokesperson said in 2011 , a year after South Africa hosted the first football World Cup on African soil . But Sam believes the time is right for Africa to finally stage the Games , following the disappointment of Nigerian capital Abuja to win the 2014 Games . The Commonwealth Games Federation ( CGF ) vice-president says South Africa 's previous ability to stage major sporting events will hold it in good stead . `` These are exciting times for South African sport , '' said Sam . `` Over the years we have shown our ability to stage the biggest sporting events , with Rugby and Cricket World Cups being an example , plus of course the 2010 World Cup . '' Monday was the deadline for nations to hand over official notes of interest for staging the 2022 event , and their late arrival may have caused some concern for Games officials . Last month , Mike Hooper , the CGF chief executive , said the Games could end in 2018 , when Australia will host , should no bidder for the 2022 Games come forward . Concerns have been growing about the cost of staging the event , with organizers saying that a possible way of avoiding this would be to reduce the number of different disciplines from 17 to 10 . However , Monday 's bids have given the CGF a significant boost . `` This is an exciting development for the Games movement , one that reinforces the Games ' position on the world 's sporting stage , '' said CGF president Prince Tunku Imran . `` The future outlook for the Commonwealth Games is extremely positive . '' Edmonton , which last hosted in 1978 , will be South Africa 's rival when the awarding decision takes place in September 2015 . `` Hosting the games in 2022 will demonstrate to the world how much Edmonton has evolved , '' said Mayor Don Iveson in a statement . Canada was the first country to stage the Commonwealth Games , when Hamilton hosted in 1930 , and has held it on three more occasions since . Both Edmonton and Durban need to hand over confirmed bids in March 2015 . The next Commonwealth Games will take place in the Scottish city Glasgow in July .
Games and Cape Town declare official interest in hosting 2022 Commonwealth Games . Monday had been Monday for bidders to come forward . Brazil has hosted four previous times , while Caribbean has yet to stage the games .