The race for the presidency of the Association of National Olympic Committees –ANOC– is entering a decisive phase ahead of its General Assembly, which will take place in Hong Kong in December. Mustapha Berraf and Alejandro Blanco have presented their candidacies and outlined their respective proposals for an organisation representing 206 National Olympic Committees.
Sarah Noura Arif, an international development strategy expert, strategic adviser and supervisor of Berraf’s campaign, assesses Blanco’s programme and its similarities with proposals previously included in ANOC Vision 2036. Arif argues that the chronology of the two candidacies deserves attention and presents those parallels as an initial validation of the work carried out by Berraf.
SportsIn: “What is your assessment of Alejandro Blanco’s candidacy and programme?”
Sarah Noura Arif: “Every candidacy is, of course, entirely legitimate and deserves to be treated with respect. However, upon reading this announcement, our first reaction was to look at the dates. When it comes to ideas and vision, chronology matters. And if the vision that Mustapha Berraf has been advancing for several months is now helping to inspire the way in which other candidates envisage the future of ANOC, then we may already consider that ANOC Vision 2036 has begun to make an impact. The texts are there. The publications are dated. The chronology is established. Anyone can place them side by side and form their own judgement.
For several months, we have been developing ANOC Vision 2036, Mustapha Berraf’s vision for the future of ANOC. And that vision was public well before 11 September. As early as 7 July, ‘Francs Jeux’ publicly presented the key orientations of Mustapha Berraf’s candidacy and his vision for the 206 National Olympic Committees. On 31 July, ‘SportsIn’ provided further details on ANOC Vision 2036, as well as Initiative 206, designed to ensure that every NOC has access to the tools, partnerships and opportunities it needs, regardless of its size, geographical location or resources.
In August, Mustapha Berraf’s full Manifesto was then formally circulated to all 206 NOCs. It structures his vision for the future of ANOC around four pillars — Unite. Empower. Inspire. Innovate. Its defining message is clear: “One Olympic Family. 206 National Olympic Committees. Five continents. One shared future.” What is particularly interesting today is to revisit Mustapha Berraf’s Manifesto in light of the language that appeared in this candidate’s declaration of 11 September.
An independent ANOC
Mustapha Berraf proposes to “build a stronger ANOC”, then “a more united ANOC”, founded on “independence”, “more responsive to the needs of its members” and “fully committed to serving its members”. His first commitment is to “strengthen the 206 National Olympic Committees” and ensure that each of them has the means necessary to fulfil its mission.
Above all, his Manifesto contains this sentence: “Trust is not inherited. It is earned through listening, dialogue and action.” He also states: “Listen before deciding, unite before acting, and serve before leading.” And elsewhere, he writes very clearly: “Unite the continents.”
When, on 11 September, we then read in this declaration of “a strong, united and independent ANOC, close to its members”, capable of “strengthening the voice and role of the NOCs” and “turning their needs into concrete solutions”, followed by the formulation “Listen. Unite. Deliver. 206 voices. One Olympic Movement,” I sincerely believe there is little more that needs to be said. The proximity of the language, the concepts and the way in which they are articulated deserves, at the very least, to be noted. And, once again, the chronology is perfectly clear.
We could even regard this, in a sense, as a first validation of Mustapha Berraf’s candidacy: if other candidates now find themselves aligned with a vision that he has been developing and championing for several months, perhaps that is also confirmation that he not only identified the right priorities for the future of ANOC, but is also the candidate best placed to turn them into reality.
Continuing a vision
A campaign for the presidency of ANOC is not built in a matter of days, nor around a handful of phrases. It is the result of months of work, consultation and reflection. It rests upon the experience of a candidate, a team of experts, a vision, a programme and, above all, concrete and achievable proposals.
We presented a vision. We published a programme. We shared it with all 206 NOCs. And while others are beginning to echo its priorities, Mustapha Berraf is already putting them into practice. Mustapha Berraf intends to continue his campaign on this vision, on the fact that it was articulated well before comparable proposals emerged and, above all, on its capacity to become a tangible reality for the 206 NOCs.”
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