The first Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) – Zone 5 regional forum will be launched in Kigali today at Hotel de Mille Collines.

The two-day forum, which concludes tomorrow, has brought together 40 delegates from Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Burundi to discuss and deliberate on the matter of Sports and Marketing Strategic Plan in the region.

While announcing the development on Tuesday, Rwanda National Olympic and Sports Committee (RNOSC) president, Amb. Valens Munyabagisha, said that among other areas of discussion during the two days, delegates will discuss on how to mobilize the private sector to financially contribute to the development of sports in the region.

William Blick, the President of the ANOCA Zone 5 region, explained that out of 11 countries in the zone, only three are high performing when it comes to winning medals on the global scene; Kenya, Ethiopia, and Egypt.

"We are coming together as ANOCA to re-brand ourselves and re-aligning our priorities and long-term vision in terms of performance on the world stage. We can’t afford to lag behind and be comfortable about it,”

Blick further pointed out that the forum is aimed at reviving the regional games, such that in 2-3 years to come, the zone will be organizing regional games before competing at Olympics and other big competitions.

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