On the way to Singapore

ABUJA (NGR) - LAUSANNE (SUI) FIG Office, February 15, 2010: Morocco shall, from May 9 – 15, 2010, play host to the maiden edition of the African Youth Games. This announcement was made recently at the Atlas Hotel, Casablanca, precisely on Wednesday February 3, 2010, during the official signing ceremony of an agreement to this effect. The official agreement was signed by three parties: the Moroccan government represented by Youth and Sports Minister, His Excellency Moncef Belkhayat, the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa represented by President Lassana Palenfo, and NOC Morocco represented by its first Vice President, Mr. Kamal Lahlou.

The African Youth Games have come to replace the ANOCA Zone Games. Following the success of the latter, which were organised in the various ANOCA Development Zones, President Palenfo thought it wise to innovate, giving the games a continental dimension by organising them at the same venue and period.

The event aims, among others, to foster such Olympic values like peace, tolerance, solidarity and fraternity among Africans through sport, bring together Africa’s sporting youths aged 15 to 17 to celebrate excellence and prepare them for world class competitions.
This maiden edition shall feature a good number of sports disciplines: athletics, rowing, basketball (3 vs 3), boxing, cycling, fencing, football, gymnastics, judo, wrestling, swimming, taekwondo, tennis and table tennis.

Sport - Education - Culture

Besides the sporting aspect, the African Youth Games are also meant to be a major educational and cultural jamboree. As a matter of fact, they shall also feature educational programmes that bear on Olympic values, as well as initiatives aimed at promoting health and social cohesion, and checking doping, racism and violence.

Three venues, namely Rabat, Casablanca and Salé, have already been earmarked to host this Olympic festival, which is expected to bring together 1200 athletes from 53 NOCs. This maiden edition of the African Youth Games shall be celebrated barely three months before the Youth Olympic Games billed for Singapore in August 2010. They shall thus afford African NOCs an excellent opportunity to prepare their athletes for this world class event.

Reacting to the signing of the protocol agreement in Casablanca, the President of ANOCA, General Lassana Palenfo, underscored that the African Youth Games shall use sport as a tool to foster friendship, unity and peace among nations of the continent.