The African Olympic Committees spoke out this Saturday, March 4, in favor of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, on the occasion of the Executive Committee of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (Acnoa) in Nouakchott.
The African Olympic Committees have aligned themselves with the position of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and joined the Olympic Council of Asia (COA) which had proposed at the end of January to integrate Russian and Belarusian athletes into its regional competitions such as the Asian Games in expressing support for the IOC’s position.
” The members voted unanimously in favor of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in all international competitions “Said Acnoa in a press release. ” It will thus be a question of allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in complete neutrality without any sign of identity in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. “, continues the text.
At the end of January, the Olympic body sketched out a roadmap to reintegrate Russians and Belarusians, excluded from world sport since the invasion of Ukraine, under a neutral flag, on condition that they have ” not actively supported the war in Ukraine “. ” No athlete should be banned from competition on the basis of their passport alone “, had assured the executive of the IOC. This is also the opinion of Acnoa which ” gave its agreement to reaffirm that politics cannot put pressure on sport and take away from it all its values of nobility which revolve around peace, unity and solidarity “: ” Athletes must never pay the heavy price of any conflict whatsoever and wherever it may be “, indicates the press release.
The IOC’s proposal to reinstate Russians and Belarusians is far from unanimous. In a joint letter, the result of a conference organized on February 11 between sports ministers from some thirty countries including France, Great Britain, Sweden, Poland, the United States and Canada, a coalition of country asked the IOC for “ clarifications on the neutrality required for Russian and Belarusian athletes conditioning their participation in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Ukraine is headwind against the possibility of a presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes in Paris, including under a neutral banner, and has even threatened to boycott the competition.
(With AFP)