Massah and Helene Mpinganjira, the secretary general of the Malawi Olympic Committee (MOC), have held discussions with the Councils in both Portsmouth and Southampton.

 

Massah said: "We have been to Southampton but I think the facilities in Portsmouth, with the sport and the history, suit us well."
 

He was particularly impressed by Portsmouth's new facilities at the Mountbatten Centre, which has recently undergone a £20 million refit, including the building of a new Olympic-sized swimming pool and athletics track.

 

Massah said: "The facilities here are very good indeed.

"It is rare to see a 50 metre swimming pool, we do not have one at home.

"There is also such a lot of history – we have read about Portsmouth in books, and about the football team, but we never expected to be seeing it.

'We have been to Southampton but I think the facilities in Portsmouth, with the sport and the history, "uit us well."

Massah and Mpinganjira were taken to Portsmouth's Dockyard - where they viewed HMS Victory - Old Portsmouth, Spinnaker Tower and the university's sports science centre.

Malawi is the first country to visit the city with a view to setting up camp in the run- up to the Games but Colombia are expected to follow them later this year.

Terry Hall, the Councillor who is in charge of culture and leisure in Portsmouth, said that the city could accommodate two teams.

 

He said: "It could be Malawi and another country that use the centre – the Olympics is all about working together."

 

Malawi, which gained its independence from Britain in 1964, is located in southeast Africa and has a population of 13.9 million.

 

They made their Olympic debut at Munich in 1972 but have yet to win a medal.

 

They sent only four athletes to the Games in Beijing last year, two swimmers and two athletes.

 

They included Zahra Pinto, a 14-year-old swimmer who has to travel to South Africa to train in an Olympic-sized pool.

 

The biggest team Malawi has ever sent to an Olympics was in 1984 when seven competitors travelled to Los Angeles.