Interview with Mustapha Berraf, President of ANOCA
On the sidelines of the Taranto Mediterranean Games, the President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), Mustapha Berraf, granted an interview to the Association’s newsletter. From Algiers 1975, where he experienced his first Mediterranean Games as an athlete, to the presidency of ANOCA today, he reflects on what these Games represent for the Olympic Movement, on the shared needs of Africa’s 54 National Olympic Committees, and on the lessons his experience leading ANOCA can offer the global Olympic family. He concludes with a message of confidence and responsibility addressed, from Taranto, to the world’s 206 NOCs.
Q1. What do the Mediterranean Games represent today, beyond sport?
MUSTAPHA BERRAF
“The Mediterranean Games demonstrate that a regional identity can become a genuine instrument of international cooperation. At the meeting point of Africa, Asia and Europe, the Mediterranean carries different realities but also a profoundly shared destiny. These Games are a true haven of peace, dialogue and the meeting of identities, where diversity becomes a force for connection. Their value is therefore not measured only by sporting performance, but by their capacity to build trust and forge lasting ties between peoples.”
Q2. What role should the Mediterranean Games play within the international sports Movement?
MUSTAPHA BERRAF
“I had the privilege of experiencing the Mediterranean Games from Algiers in 1975, successively as an athlete, a technician, and then as an official. This experience, across different responsibilities, allowed me to gauge their evolution, but also their full potential. Their uniqueness lies precisely in bringing three continents together. We must turn this proximity into a genuine lever for cooperation among the NOCs, by fostering the sharing of expertise, training, athlete preparation and innovation. The Olympic Movement will be all the stronger for combining a global vision, structured regional cooperation, and the capacity to act close to national realities.”
Q3. What are the main shared needs of the NOCs today?
MUSTAPHA BERRAF
“The realities of the NOCs differ, but their fundamental needs converge: solid institutions, strengthened skills, better command of digital tools, diversified resources, and more equitable access to expertise and opportunities. Differences in size or means must never become differences in the capacity to act. Our collective responsibility is to enable every NOC to fully carry out its mission and to contribute to an Olympic Movement that is stronger, more balanced, and better prepared for the transformations ahead.”
Q4. What lessons from your experience leading ANOCA could benefit the global Olympic family?
MUSTAPHA BERRAF
“My experience with ANOCA has deeply convinced me that an organization is all the stronger for making its diversity a collective strength. Fifty-four NOCs means fifty-four different institutional, economic and cultural realities. This calls for governance built on listening, proximity, adaptation to realities on the ground, and a genuine culture of results. This experience extends beyond the African context: it taught me that effective governance does not mean applying the same answers everywhere, but pursuing shared objectives while taking each context into account.”
Q5. How can every NOC be enabled to contribute and have its voice heard?
MUSTAPHA BERRAF
“We must move from a logic of representation to a genuine culture of participation. Every NOC must be able to be heard, to contribute to shaping decisions, and to take full part in the major directions of our Movement. The strength of the Olympic family lies in its 206 NOCs: no voice should be left on the margins, and each one must be able to make a real contribution to our collective future.”
Q6. What message would you like to send from Taranto to the global Olympic family?
MUSTAPHA BERRAF
“From Taranto, I would like to send a message of confidence and responsibility. The world is changing, and our Movement must know how to evolve with it while remaining true to the values that give it its strength. Our responsibility is to prepare the future: to anticipate change, to hand down a stronger Olympic Movement to the generations to come, and to preserve sport’s unique capacity to bring people together across their differences. This also means giving athletes their full place in shaping the future of our Movement, and preparing those who wish to become the leaders of tomorrow. Their experience, their voice and their commitment are essential. This is a collective responsibility we must carry together.”
