- Events
Over 100 security and safety officials gathered in Maputo from 29 and 30 September 2026 for an Operational Preparedness Training in preparation for the 12th Edition of the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Youth Games, set to take place in the Mozambican capital in December 2026.
The training was organized by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), through its Global Sports Programme, in partnership with the Portuguese Public Security Police, the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) and its Region 5 Secretariat, and the Games' Local Organising Committee.
This training aimed to equip national and local authorities with practical tools and international good practices to manage a complex, multi-venue sport event in a safe, secure, and inclusive manner. It built on the participation of UNOCT in the Sports Review Forum organised by the African Union Sports Council Region 5 in Mozambique in March 2026, in the framework of the mid-term review of the 2023 - 2028 AUSC Region 5 Strategic Plan. Mr. Stanely Mutoya, Chief Executive Officer of AUSC Region 5, welcomed the training as a critical step in the Games' security preparedness, noting the value of international technical support ahead of the country's first major multi-sport event since 2011.
Addressing the Operational Complexity of the Maputo Games
The training was designed around the specific security challenges of the upcoming Games. Over 2,500 athletes and officials from ten Southern African Member States will compete across 13 disciplines at multiple venues throughout Maputo, while being accommodated in hotels across the city — functioning collectively as an athletes' village. This distributed footprint requires close coordination between the Police of the Republic of Mozambique, national Defence Forces, private security companies, traffic control, hotel-contracted security providers, and public health and emergency services.
Training participants included 108 practitioners from the Local Organising Committee, the Police of the Republic of Mozambique, public health services, and the Mozambique Football Federation Security Department, alongside representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNOCT's network of international partners. Expert contributions were provided remotely and in person by the Portuguese Public Security Police, the Council of Europe's Saint-Denis Unit, the UK Sports Ground Safety Authority, INTERPOL, GDG Inspire, and Moonshot.
The two days of training covered risk and vulnerability assessment, Joint Operations Command and venue operations, venue protection and access control, security protocols for transport hubs and accommodation clusters, health emergency planning, and crisis communication and counter-disinformation. To ground the training in the real operating environment, theoretical sessions were complemented by a guided site visit to the Games' key venues — including the Estádio Nacional do Zimpeto, training sites, accommodation venues, and transport hubs. The visit coincided with a national team football match, giving participants a live operational reference point.
The training is part of UNOCT's continued engagement with Mozambique and AUSC Region 5 ahead of the Games, which will also include a Youth Peace Ambassador Programme in December 2026, using sport to promote social cohesion and resilience among young people from across the region.
For more information about the UNOCT Global Sports Programme, please visit: /counterterrorism/en/sport-and-security-programme
