GOC to host Africa Sports Awards with ANOCA

Ghana would host the rebirth of the All African Sports Awards. This follows a successful meeting between the President of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) Mr Ben Nunoo Mensah and the President of Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) General Lassanne Palenfo in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

As a follow up to the Abidjan meeting, the ANOCA President General Palenfo and the President of the Association of African Sports Confederation (AASC) General Ahmed Nasser would pay a working visit to Ghana in October to firm up the programme with the event coordinators.He said “it is the believe of the GOC that the Games would be extended to become an ANOCA Zone 5 event”.

Present at the meeting were President of ANOCA who also doubles as President the National Olympic Committee of Cote d’Ivoire, his vice, Kouakou K. Lucien, Ghana’s Ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire H.E Fred Laryea and the Managing Director of MMRS, Mr Reginald Laryea.

The first edition of the awards was held in Ghana on November 17, 2007 at the Banquet Hall of the State House but unfortunately died off afterwards.

However, the GOC President proposed the idea for the reintroduction of the awards at the ANOCA Congress in Djibouti this year and was forwarded to the Marketing Commission of ANOCA’s meeting held in Abidjan last week.

Media Majique and Research Systems (MMRS) who also hosted the maiden edition in Ghana will also manage and coordinate the event this time round.

Mr Reginald Laryea, the Managing Director of Media Majique and Research Systems, has explained thus “his outfit would capitalize on their experience with the first edition to host a successful event next year”.

He also made a special appeal to corporate bodies to come on board as sponsors for Ghana to rewrite history in terms of event coordination and giving hope to African athletes.

The underlying objective of the Awards is to ensure that Africa’s rich sporting legacy is not left in the hands of others and that Africans are entrusted with ensuring a lasting monument in the global arena of sports.

Nominees would be drawn from the whole of Africa and every athlete who stratifies the election criteria would be considered.

Candidates would be selected based on performance that is Olympic Champion, World Champion, World Record Holder, Commonwealth Champion and Pan African Champion.

In a related development, the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) and the National Olympic Committee of Cote d’Ivoire have signed an agreement to host bilateral Games as part of efforts to boost the existing friendship between the two countries.

The maiden edition of the Games would be held in September 2018 in the capital city, Accra.

Selected sporting disciplines for the event would be Track and Field, Badminton, Table Tennis, Weightlifting, Volleyball, Beach Volleyball and Taekwondo.

According to the GOC President, Mr Ben Nunoo Mensah, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be signed between the two NOCs in October when the ANOCA President visits Ghana.