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ANOCA LAUNCH PROGRAMME TO HELP AFRICANS AT TOKYO 2020

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BY MICHAEL PAVITT

The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) have launched a programme aimed at assisting African countries to improve their medal haul at Tokyo 2020.

ANOCA President Mustapha Berraf was present at a workshop in Burkina Faso held as part of the initiative.

Berraf, elected ANOCA President in November, opened the workshop titled “The Road to Tokyo 2020”.

The Algerian vowed to provide countries with support to help them achieve medal success at next year’s Olympic Games.

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This will include backing of $1 million (£770,000/€880,000) from ANOCA, with the organisation having voted to provide the funding.

It is hoped the fund will support athletes from the continent to qualify for the Olympic Games.

The fund is also designed to help motivate athletes to win medals, it is claimed.

The workshop was open to member countries in Africa zone three.

Officials from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Niger and Togo were present at the event.

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ANOCA have also vowed to hold a training camp for athletes from Africa to assist their qualification for the Games.

The training camp is expected to take place over a three-month period.

ANOCA are also expected to establish a Tokyo 2020 Commission to lead African preparations for next year’s Games.

Only four countries from Africa won Olympic gold medals at Rio 2016.

The most successful country is Kenya.

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The country won a total of 13 medals, including six gold, all in athletics, to place 15th overall.

South Africa won 10 medals, two of them gold.

Ethiopia and Cote d’Ivoire each won one gold medal. 

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Olympics

Olympic rings removed from Eiffel Tower

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The Eiffel Tower and the Olympic Rings

The Olympic rings installed on the Eiffel Tower since June to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games were removed from the Parisian monument early on Friday morning, as confirmed by an AFP photographer. But the Paris City Hall intends to replace them with a more permanent structure until 2028.

The five-coloured rings, measuring 29 metres in length and 15 metres in height, were placed between the first and second levels of the iconic iron structure on 7 June. 

According to Inside the Games publication, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo  wants the Olympic symbol to continue decorating the monument until the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

But the descendants of the tower’s creator, Gustave Eiffel are opposing the move. They are insisting that the Olympic rings are aesthetically in conflict with the concept and design of the Tower.

The 30-tonne rings initially installed on the Eiffel Tower were also not designed to withstand winter weather conditions.

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Despite Egypt winning 3 medals at Paris Olympics, President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul

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Ahmed El-Gendy won Egypt's only gold at the Paris Olympics

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered  a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that  participatedat the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.

The mandate includes a thorough expenditure check and a performance review to better highlight areas of improvement and fund allocation in future Games.

Additionally, the president plans to take necessary measures against federations —such as limiting funds— that had negative results in the Paris Games.

Egypt’s participation in sports where it lacks a competitive advantage will also be limited, as the president aims to direct resources to promising athletes to ensure optimal results. The president also aims to reduce administrative and technical staff within Olympic delegations and task relevant ministries with preparing future Olympic athletes.

Al-Sisi’s Olympic overhaul is to be presented to the cabinet for approval and urged the government to prioritise amending the sports law for the House of Representatives for review. 

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Egypt took home a total of three medals in the Summer Games. Ahmed El-Gendy triumphed in modern pentathlon, Sara Samir claimed the silver in weightlifting, and 21-year-old fencer Mohamed El-Sayed earned the bronze.

-Insidethegames

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Olympics

Paris 2024 Games break record ticket sales

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Beach Volleyball - Men's Gold Medal Match - Sweden vs Germany (Ahman/Hellvig vs Ehlers/Wickler) - Eiffel Tower Stadium, Paris, France - August 10, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo

Paris 2024 sold a record 12 million tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics, beating the Games record previously set by London 2012, organisers said on Sunday.

Some 9.5 million tickets were sold for the Olympics and 2.5 million for the Paralympics, which end on Sunday.

In 2012, London organisers set the record for the Paralympics with 2.7 million tickets sold but only 8.2 million were sold for the Olympics.

-Reuters

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