The IOC President visits Algiers

IOC President Jacques Rogge was received on 22 July in Algiers during the 9th All-African Games by the President of the Algerian Republic, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in the presence of Mustapha Larfaoui, IOC member, and its colleagues Lassana Palenfo, President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) and Issa Hayatou, President of the African Football Confederation (CAF). Algerian NOC President Mustapha Berraf was also present. On this occasion, President Rogge was awarded the “Ahid” medal of the National Order of Merit, the highest Algerian distinction, by President Bouteflika. Lassana Palenfo and Issa Hayatou were awarded the “Djadir” medal. This is President Rogge’s third official visit to Algeria, the first two being in 2004 and 2006.




Participation in the ANOCA GA
Before going to the competition venues, the IOC President spoke to the representatives of the 53 NOCs belonging to ANOCA during their 12th Ordinary General Assembly. He welcomed the many initiatives led by ANOCA, notably the creation of the ANOCA Games, which are today echoed by the Youth Olympic Games. He also recalled that Africa is the IOC’s number one priority for sports development, mentioning, among other things, the launch of the “Sport for Hope” project and the second “Giving is Winning” campaign. President Rogge received the first ANOCA gold merit medal from Lassana Palenfo.



More than 8,000 athletes in Algiers
From 11 to 23 July 2007, Algiers hosted, for the second time, athletes from the African continent. A total of more than 8,000 athletes competed in 21 Olympic sports, three non-Olympic sports and three Paralympic sports. The 10th edition of the All-African Games will be held in 2011 in Lusaka, Zambia.