BY: Yanshin Ibrahim Yansaneh
On the eve of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) conducted an emergency session of its General Assembly on July 31, 2024, at the Hôtel Méridien Paris Etoile, when important decisions concerning African sport in Paris were made.
Madam Augusta James-Teima, the Minister of Sports, and Prince Vandy Sualley, the President of the National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone (NOC-SLE), represented Sierra Leone.
attended by all 54 African NOCs and chaired by President Mustapha Berrap. Based on proposals from the States, the Youth Olympic Games, the African Beach Games, and the status report on the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games preparations were all on the agenda.
On the fringes of the discussions between ANOCA and the International School Sports Federation, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the intention of establishing an incubator for emerging talent with the goal of reaching the highest level.
Honorable Mustapha Berrap, the host and president of ANOCA, stated in his introductory remarks that the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa is executing its 2020–2024 strategic plan with wisdom and effectiveness, emphasizing that they are collaborating as a team.
“We are still committed to making Africa’s youth happy and joyful. to use athletics to advance the African continent. As a result, we back the 54 African nations in their continuous pursuit of wealth. Sport serves as a catalyst for growth. Africa is determined to make this a key factor in its socioeconomic development. Therefore, these efforts are revolutionary in pursuing our shared objectives.
Our strength has always been our shared cause. This vision must be preserved. For our actions to be a total success, each and every one of us must be involved. We believe that our outcomes are adequate since, in all modesty, we can declare that we have carried out our initiatives and strategic plan with rigor. However, we still have to do more work. We can claim that our National Olympic Committees are moving forward with tenacity because of the extraordinary environment that currently pervades the Olympic Movement,” he said.
He highlighted that they are working in close collaboration with the IOC, they’ve embarked on a programme to build and renovate Headquarters in certain countries for the benefit of their NOCs, who need to work in the best possible conditions.
For the next Olympic Solidarity quadrennial plan for the benefit of the African continent, we will organise multiple events and activities, notably: the African Games Egypt 2027, the Angola Youth Games in December 2025, and the African Beach Games in Equatorial Guinea and the African School Games in July 2025 in Algiers. This latest initiative, in close collaboration with the International School Sports Federation, should enable our NOCs to work closely with their respective Federations to identify budding talents and thus open up more promising prospects for the future. We’ll also be getting down to work in the run-up to the first ever E-Sport Olympic Games in 2025 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he noted.
As for the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026, Seydina Omar DIAGNE, Secretary General of NOC Senegal, stated that everything is proceeding according to plan and that the event will be a major one.
IOC President Thomas BACH spoke at the conference, praising the outstanding work of the African NOC Presidents and urging unity and solidarity to make major strides in African sport.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has invested a significant amount of money to assist African National Olympic Committees. The increase from Olympic Solidarity will be 10%. Your actions on behalf of the young of the continent have earned you this. “Africa is the future,” said Thomas Bach, the head of the IOC.
“There will also be changes in the support to the TOP program, ‘The Olympic Partner,’ with increased support for the least privileged NOCs,” the IOC President added. We want them to keep up the momentum after all the difficulties caused by international problems.
Impressive appearances were also made by International E-Sports Federation (leSF) President Faissal Bin Bandar Sultan Al Saud, Chinese Olympic Committee President Gao ZIDHAN, ANOC President Robin Mitchell, and IOC members in Africa. The French Minister of Sport and the Olympic Games, Amélie OUDEA-CASTERA, also took part in the talks.
In appreciation of their dedication to African sport and the Olympic Movement, the president of ANOCA gave decorations to a number of notable individuals.
