Secretary-General of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC, Honourable Tunde Popoola has applauded the dissolution of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa as he said that the organisation of the All Africa Games would bring out the best in African athletes.
Last weekend marked a milestone for the continental sport as African Sporting leaders endorsed the dissolution of the defunct Supreme Council for Sport in Africa, SCSA.
The dissolution of the body previously charged with organization of the past 11 editions of the All African Games, is a key step to revamping the games which had clearly lost its gem, as witnessed in Maputo, Mozambique last month. “This is one of the best things to ever happen to sports in Africa. The Association of National Olympics Committees of Africa, ANOCA, will now ensure that host countries no longer dictate the sports that are to be competed for at the All Africa Games as witnessed in Maputo”.
Sports like Weightlifting, Powerlifting, Wrestling and Powerlifting were cancelled by Mozambique at the All Africa Games. “What it means is that there is not going to be any more jamboree in the Games. Professionals will take over the organisation of the Games and it will also make marketing more effective”, Popoola said.
The African Union Member States Ministerial meeting held at the Commission headquarters in Addis Ababa last week focused on the future architecture for African sport and how to make it competitive and attractive for the best sporting talents on African soil.
In a rare declaration they endorsed an earlier proposal to hand over the Pan-African games organization to the Association of National Olympics Committees of Africa, (ANOCA) with the Association of African Sports Confederations, (AASC) handling the technical aspects of the event.
With the litany of problems witnessed in the Maputo Games Popoola reasons that African sports would be better for it as it gives each sport the chance to excel and also makes it a preparatory ground for the Olympics. “We are free from the clutches of being told which sport to be included and the ones to be excluded”, Popoola emphasised.
A glimpse of the mess in Maputo included the confusion over the women’s triple jump, which had to be repeated after one of the competitors, had a jump wrongly measured.In the same vein, accreditation delays, meant athletes, had to wait for several hours to access the Games village, chaotic transportation for athletes and Journalists.
