There is a bright and prosperous future ahead for the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, the pride of our continent’s 54 National Olympic Committees.
Together, we have achieved great things, which give hope and reassure us that we can even do better. It is our enduring conviction.
60 years after the creation of the African sports movement and 40 years following the establishment of ANOCA, we must shift gear. Moreover, nothing should be overlooked. That is why, together, we developed a strategic plan that runs from 2020 to 2024 and which guides our priority actions without neglecting other actions of proven importance.
This plan is tailored to the realities of our continent and is in tune with modernity, management techniques and new management methods. Major projects linked to this strategic paper include the organisation of the African Youth Games, the African Beach Games and the African Games to be hosted by Ghana. Our vision is to make the Youth Olympic Games billed for Dakar, Senegal, in 2026, a global success in terms of mobilisation.
On the move… We are committed to building headquarters for NOCs that do not have them, in close collaboration with Olympic Solidarity. We also plan to set up a documentation and archiving centre on African sport.
Promoting sport and Olympism is our cross, while the banner is the quality of our actions based on good governance and transparency.
We can all be proud of Africa’s wonderful participation in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Japan. With the entire Olympic and global sports community, we braved the terrible Covid-19 pandemic, which finally turned out to be scarecrow.
We once again hail, with thanks and deference, the excellent mediation and rallying work done by IOC President, Dr Thomas BACH. We can also be satisfied with our participation in the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China, in 2022.
We are forging ahead and intend to shine at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. No stone is being left unturned for the 54 African NOCs to succeed during that expedition. That is why we focus mainly on supporting all our athletes so as to create the most enabling conditions for them to perform their best and bring home medals. Our athlete support programme is designed to this end.
We are Olympism and, day by day, sport affords us an opportunity to showcase our enormous talents and demonstrate our seriousness in sports governance.
We urge all African governments to get even more involved than ever, in supporting National Olympic Committees. We thank them for their invaluable contribution to sport in Africa over many decades.
Together, we are stronger and can move mountains.
Hand in glove, in solidarity, in sharing and in love, we are covering ground and inching closer to all our goals by the day. Let’s stay focused and continue to give African youth reasons not only to hope, but to enjoy all the benefits of sport, whose practice, whether professional or amateur, is a vector of peace and prosperity. That is why ANOCA moves on with conviction and abnegation. That is what sporting Africa needs, and our Olympic movement is proud of it because solidarity, love, sharing and fair play are the cornerstones of our approach.
Mustapha Berraf
IOC Member
President of ANOCA
