“For me, Morocco has shown, in this 12th edition of the African Games, that it’s got the majority of the facilities, sites and equipment needed to organise such big sports events, and now it’s able to go further… Why not the Olympic Games!” said Lahlou Kamal Hamid, executive committee member of the African National Olympic Committees Association (ANOCA) and vice president of the Moroccan National Olympic Committee (CNOM).
ANOCA is an international organisation based in Abuja in Nigeria. It brings together 54 African National Olympic Committees. The Moroccan National Olympic Committee was established in 1959 and it’s the national representative of Morocco on the International Olympic Committee (IOC). ANOCA’s main goals are to promote conciliation between National Olympic Committees and governments, build an ambitious sports policy, offer young athletes the conditions for success, participate in the fight against doping, corruption, violence and pandemics, promote sports initiatives and work to bring people closer through sport and to build a peaceful Africa.
“This is the first time that ANOCA made an agreement with the African Union. I think Morocco has done a very good job knowing that it prepared everything for the 12th edition of the African Games in just 8 months! Normally it takes more than 3 years… For me this 2019 edition will go down in history, it’s a rebirth of the African Games!” Kamal added.
“I want to thank very much the Organisation Committee of the African Games Rabat (COJAR) for their seriousness and their professionalism starting from the opening ceremony and during all the competitions, they did a very good job. The organisation was at a high level,” said Kamal, founder of the first company for media rights and sports marketing in 1983 and the first person who introduced advertising panels in sports stadiums.
Morocco’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Rachid Talbi Alami emphasized before the opening ceremony of the African Games 2019 that the organization of such a big sports event has a political dimension, with the return of Morocco to the African Union and its accession to The Economic Community of West African States (CEDEAO). The main purpose of which is to coordinate the actions of West African countries and to promote cooperation and integration in order to create a West African Economic and Monetary Union.
The African Games, also known as the Pan-African Games, is a multi-sport competition held every four years across the African continent. Its organization is the responsibility of the African Union (AU), the African National Olympic Committees Association (ANOCA), and the Union of African Sports Confederations (UCSA). The first edition was held in 1965 in Brazzaville, the political and administrative capital of the Republic of Congo.
