South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has congratulated Rwanda on securing a 10-year agreement to host Formula 1’s African Grand Prix, calling it recognition of Rwanda’s capabilities and Africa’s potential.
“On behalf of the government and people of South Africa, I offer warm congratulations to His Excellency President Paul Kagame and the government and people of Rwanda,” Ramaphosa said. South Africa, which hosted the last Grand Prix on African soil at Kyalami in 1993, would be happy to share its experience if Rwanda sought support.
“You are in pole position to make all of Africa proud and take motorsport to new heights,” he said.
Rwanda’s success followed years of preparation. At the FIA’s General Assemblies in Kigali in 2024, Kagame formally announced the country’s bid.
The gathering itself had faced resistance: FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem recalled that some people questioned holding the event in Rwanda. “You don’t know what you are missing,” he said he told them.
The Kigali meetings went ahead, bringing motorsport leaders to Rwanda and giving the country a chance to demonstrate its capacity to host a major international event.
The partnership also took shape through grassroots motorsport. During the 2024 FIA visit, Kagame inspected a low-cost cross-car prototype built by Rwanda Polytechnic students using an FIA design.
Ben Sulayem later cited that work as an example of how the relationship could extend beyond race day into training, engineering and opportunities for young people.
At this week’s announcement, Ben Sulayem praised Rwanda’s negotiating team and its sports minister. “Your team has been working very hard, and then you have a great minister here who I can see is a very good negotiator,” he said. Rwanda’s Sports Minister Nelly Mukazayire was among the officials present.
Ben Sulayem also stressed the continental meaning of the event’s name: “It’s not called Rwanda F1, it’s called Africa. This is sending a message; it is about Africa.” He said the FIA would continue supporting Rwanda with technical standards, training and grassroots development.
The planned race will be held in Bugesera, near Kigali, in the early 2030s, once a purpose-built circuit is completed. It will mark Formula 1’s return to Africa after the 1993 South African Grand Prix.
South Africa’s Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie congratulated Rwanda but said his country’s own bid remained alive. “Rwanda has not beaten us,” he said, pointing to the possibility of a South African race in 2028 or 2029 and arguing that Africa should be able to host more than one Grand Prix.
Kagame, meanwhile, answered doubters who questioned whether Rwanda could host Formula 1: “Take a deep breath and calm down and wait to see what is coming.”
The deal has drawn criticism as well as celebration.
Formula 1 and the FIA have emphasised the prospect of reaching more than 100 million African fans and creating opportunities in tourism, skills development and business.
