(ATR) Rebuilding trust in a continental association through its modernization is the main platform for Hamad Kalkaba’s presidential campaign.
Kalkaba, the current president of the Cameroon National Olympic and Sports Committee, is so far the only declared candidate for the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa presidency. He spoke with Around the Rings to discuss the tenets of his presidential campaign, and what the future of sport governance is in Africa.
To kick off his campaign Kalkaba has established a website, twitter account, and a YouTube channel promoting his candidacy. Kalkaba says social media as a tool is "very important for sports in general" and fits in with his mission to use sport to educate future generations.
"In a sense sport is an activity that can unite in diversity, irrespective of faith, race, culture, beliefs and gender," Kalkaba said to ATR. "First, we need to rebuild trust in all sport on and off the field of play, in competition and in administration. The future of sport on the continent is tightly connected to communication with the youth."
Leveraging the future of African sport means cleaning up governance issues the continent faces through rebuilding trust and encouraging development. Kalkaba says he wants to work with all of the continent’s National Olympic Committees to improve each’s headquarters and human resources and maximize solidarity grants. After working with the NOCs, Kalkaba plans to work to increase the number of high performance training centers on the continent while increasing necessary funding for them. Finally, ANOCA must work with governments around the continent to maintain those centers and help "coordinate the activities of the National Olympic Committees within their jurisdiction".
These actions will be done in an effort to "qualify the maximum number of athletes possible for the Youth Olympic Games and for the Games of the Olympiad".
With more qualified athletes comes more responsibility for sports administrators to ensure gender equality as well. A main platform point for Kalkaba is to "address gender equity issues" throughout the continent.
"I have done great things for my country Cameroon and I feel I can replicate this at the continental level," Kalkaba said. "With my network of relationships I am able to pull together all the stakeholders of the Olympic Movement in Africa and with them create a workable synergy for the ultimate success of our movement and our continent at large."
Kalkaba does not know if there will be an opposition candidate at the 2017 ANOCA General Assembly in Djibouti. The upcoming elections will be the first under the newly passed constitution.
Current ANOCA President Lassana Palenfo said after his reelection in 2013 that he would not run again. Kalkaba believes that Palenfo is "said to be interested in another term" but cannot speak for the current ANOCA leader. Requests for comment about Palenfo’s intentions were not returned.
In addition to restoring trust in sport governance and working with all necessary stakeholders, Kalkaba says the association needs to re-energize the ANOCA brand. He believes the future for ANOCA is "a young, dynamic, efficient image which is genuinely African and genuinely relevant to Africans."
"The enormous human potential of our continent, in the field of sport, calls for a strategy that will enable Africa to increase its influence in the world," Kalkaba said. "Although Africa is not often on the podium of science and technology, our continent is regularly rising to the top of all the podiums of international sports competitions."
Written by Aaron Bauer
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