By: Mohamed Abu Conteh
The National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone has on 12th November 2022 held the 39th Seminar for Secretaries General of the African National Olympic Committees at the Radisson Blu Hotel Aberdeen in Freetown.
The theme of this year’s 39th seminar is strategic plan implementation
Speaking during the opening of the two-day seminar Dr. Patrick the President of the National Olympic Committee of Sierra Leone said they are happy to host the event in Sierra Leone because the President of ANOCA Mustapha has always wanted visits the small NOC across the continent they are happy to see him make it to Sierra Leone and be part of the Seminar, and he sends appreciation to all other NOC Secretaries who made it to the 39th NOC, noting that this is not the first time Sierra Leone is hosting such event, the last the hosted such event was way back in 1997, and 1980s when CSESA the Supreme council in Africa was in existence before the coming of ANOCA.
He added that indeed it pleasure for Sierra Leone to host such an event, in the two days Seminar the delegates discuss transformation and they will also turn the Sod for the construction of a new New NOC headquarter in Sierra Leone.
Joseph Nyande the Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee in Sierra Leone said Sierra Leone came to host this 39th Seminar during the last meeting, and unfortunately, Sierra Leone won the bid to host the event as five countries contested for the hosting right, this comes as a result of the structures and the presentations submitted.
“The Secretaries General Meeting is to see how best to implement the Strategic plan for the development of Sports in Sierra Leone.” Nothing that the Strategic Plan is which type of plan the country has in developing Sports, so the meeting is for members countries’ Secretaries to seat and discuss how to implement those plans, and spread it out, taking into consideration the time of implementation and it should be within fours years.
He affirmed that the Corona Virus across the world stalled them in kicking start some of those projects, but now it is time to kick -off the strategic plan and start the implementation of sports development. Noting that the Strategic Plan is the development of Youths across members Countries, and the development of national Sports structures, which means every member nation that wants to send athletes to international competition needs to have been tested to see if they are capable and qualified to participate and the projects need to be a sustainable way in tapping out those athletes looking at the age from 8, 10 and 11 year’s and those athletes need to be in different sports, Football, Basketball, Tennis Athletics and others Sporting disciplines.
He further that after getting all the athletes across in the various Sporting disciplines they will be trained and after that, the best among those will be selected to represent members countries in international competitions, noting that it will be of significance to Sierra Leone because it is going to be a sustainable one in the country and every those athlete caught from ages.
He said as a NOC they are currently working with the Olympic Solidarity to help them develop some of the sporting facilities in the country for the athletes, they have promised to construct the headquarters of the National Olympic Committee Office in Sierra Leone.