Hammamet, 23 June 2023: Hotel Saphir Palace was the venue of the 21st General Assembly of ANOCA, held on the sidelines of the 2nd African Beach Games in Hammamet, Tunisia.
The opening ceremony was presided at by Tunisia’s Minister for Youth and Sport, Kamel Deguiche.
In his welcome address delivered on the occasion, the President of NOC Tunisia, Mehrez Boussayene, said:
“It is a great day for Tunisia, which has gathered all of Africa under one roof, in Hammamet, City of the Jasmines, symbol of purity and sharing and torchbearer of the legendary hospitality of Tunisia, crossroads of civilisations spanning over 3,000 years, with indelible inroads of welcoming hospitality and living together of all Tunisians… We should be deeply grateful to ANOCA and to our President, Mustapha Berra,f for the precious support we have received. Together, we shall triumph… May our General Assembly be a new opportunity for peace!“
In his keynote address, ANOCA President, the Honourable Mustapha Berraf, noted:
“The agenda of this 21st Ordinary Session of the ANOCA General Assembly is very engaging. We will have to take stock of the situation and chart a way forward for a promising future.
However, allow me, first and foremost, to commend all 54 NOCs for the outstanding work they do with commitment and penetrating insight for the benefit of African sport and athletes. NOCs have spared no effort to implement a comprehensive vision that is consistent with universal Olympic values. Sports governance thus gets better by the day.”
A video message by the IOC President, Dr Thomas Bach, was then broadcast. Thomas Bach from the outset declared that: “I am always deeply delighted to address the African Olympic community. Africa really plays a significant role in the international sports arena. Your General Assembly will afford an opportunity to consolidate this role and reassert the unity of your community… Your General Assembly is holding barely a year from the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. Preparations for these Games will be at the centre of your deliberations. Over the next few months, your athletes will be focusing on qualifying for the Games. All of us – the NOCs, ANOCA, the IOC and the entire Olympic community – need to support them so that they can give us the very best of themselves.
Africa should have a strong and an excellent delegation at these Games to do even better than in Tokyo.”
Also speaking on the occasion, Tunisia’s Minister for Youth and Sport, Kamal Daqish, underscored that “the African Beach Games are supported and followed by the President of the Republic of Tunisia.” He also congratulated ANOCA on holding its 21st Ordinary General Assembly in Hammamet; the deliberations concluded with resolutions on the adoption of the ANOCA Executive Committee’s Activity Report, the Report of the Ethics Commission, as well as the Minutes of the 20th General Assembly and Equatorial Guinea’s bid to organise the 3rd African Beach Games, which was accepted by the General Assembly. The 3rd African Beach Games will therefore be held in Equatorial Guinea. The Director of Olympic Solidarity, James Macleod, who led the Olympic Solidarity team, also spoke about the organisation’s activities in support of the African Olympic and sports movement.
The discussions, which were graced by IOC members in Africa, also focused on the support programme for African athletes in preparation for the Paris 2024 Games, the 2024 action plan, the forthcoming African Games in Ghana, the ANOCA African Games 2027 and the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. The 2nd ANOCA Gender Equality Forum was also presented by Ms Filomena Fortes.
In his closing remarks, ANOCA President, the Honourable Mustapha Berraf, thanked all the members for their invaluable contribution to the deliberations, even as he expressed his faith in ANOCA’s future.
