From Goodwill Zunidza in RABAT, Morocco
Outgoing International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has urged sports journalists around the world to work closely with his successor Kirsty Coventry, the Zimbabwean who assumes his seat next month.
In an address to the world’s sports media Bach portrayed the former serial Olympic swimming champion as a goal-getter with a grand vision for the growth of the Olympic movement.
The German asked that Coventry be supported during her reign in the same or even more intensified way that he had received backing from the sports press during his 12-year stint at the helm of the global sports industry.
“With my IOC presidency coming to an end I would like to thank you for the great co-operation that we have enjoyed over the last 12 years,” Bach told more than 100 sports journalists gathered for a pre-Afcon finals symposium in Rabat, Morocco.
“It has been an honour to share this journey with sports journalists, particularly our shared belief in promoting the values of sport.
“My successor, IOC president-elect Kirsty Coventry is deeply anchored in this vision too as she has impressively demonstrated during her extraordinary sporting and professional career.”
Coventry reaped a total of seven Olympic medals, including three golds, in an extraordinary swimming career that saw her participate at four Olympic Games – winning serial medals at two editions.
Continued Bach: “I hope very much that she can count on your journalistic fairness and balance when it comes to lead the Olympic movement into an even brighter future.”
The Zimbabwean swimming legend moves to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland next month to take up her new post after winning a tightly-contested election in March where some of her scalps included world royalty and some big names in international sport.
She is the only woman and first African to lead the 130-year old Olympic movement.
Coventry herself has been in Senegal on her last stop before arriving at her new workplace.
She officiated at a ceremony marking that country’s preparations to host the 2026 Youth Olympics in Dakar, the first time for the event to take place on African soil.
It will be the second major sporting event under Coventry’s patronage, coming a few months after the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
Briefing New Ziana in Rabat, Abdoulaye Thiam, a Senegalese sports journalist, said Coventry had expressed full support for Dakar in welcoming the world to the Youth Olympics.
“President-elect Coventry said she was happy with the continued recognition for Africa in international sport and hoped that the full Olympic Games will be hosted in Africa during her tenure,” said Thiam.
In a separate development the advantages and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) in sports journalism also came under the microscope during the sports media convention in the Moroccan capital.
“The AI phenomenon. brings new challenges for journalism and for sport while at the same time also offering wonderful great opportunities,” noted Bach.
Morocco has become the focal point of international football, both on and off the field, as it awaits to stage not only the Afcon competition – in which Zimbabwe’s Warriors’ will be contesting – but also the 2030 Fifa World Cup, in conjunction with its European neighbours Spain and Portugal.
Presently the CAF U20 African Cup of Nations is underway here and the next five editions of the Fifa U17 Women’s World Cup are also taking place in the North African country.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino in a video call to the sports media convention, confirmed that FIFA’s Africa office had opened in Casablanca, Morocco’s second city and commercial capital.
New Ziana
