IOC President Thomas Bach recently visited Johannesburg, on the second leg of his tour of Africa. In South Africa, he was welcomed by the President of the National Olympic Committee (SASCOC), Barry Hendricks, IOC Honorary Member Sam Ramsamy and IOC Member Anant Singh. All three accompanied President Bach throughout the visit, along with IOC Member and President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), Mustapha Berraf.
At the SASCOC headquarters, President Bach joined the “Indaba”, a meeting of the South African athletes, during which he took part in the discussions, and focused on the outcomes and lessons of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. During an hour-long Q&A session, he was asked about subjects ranging from athlete safeguarding and gender balance to the possibility of future Olympic Games being held in Africa. He also had a meeting with the SASCOC Board members and national federation presidents and secretaries general.
In these meetings, he congratulated them on their great success at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. He also applauded the recent developments at SASCOC, telling them he was “very satisfied to see SASCOC in ‘calm waters’ and at the same time making very dynamic developments”, emphasising the close connection with the athletes and the promotion of the Olympic values.
In the evening, President Bach was guest at a dinner with members of the SASCOC Board and the South African Minister for Sports, Art and Culture, in the government of national unity, Gayton McKenzie.
In his speech, the Minister talked about the unifying power of sport in his country and praised the Olympic Games Paris 2024 for “uniting the entire world”. He also praised the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 and said that South Africa stood ready to do “everything in its power to make them a success for the continent of Africa”.
The next morning, the President held a meeting with the Minister during which they discussed the great success of the South African team at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the very positive developments of the NOC in recent times. In a phone call with the country’s Head of State, President Cyril Ramaphosa, the two leaders discussed the geopolitical situation and its consequences for world sport.
During the visit to South Africa, President Bach met with the Chair of the IOC’s Advisory Committee on Human Rights, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
He was also taken to Soweto, where they visited the home of Nelson Mandela. Earlier, President Bach had visited the Nelson Mandela Foundation where the archives of the former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner are kept. – thenewsmarket
