Sithole serious about Anoca

The Anoca General Assembly is set to take place on July 11 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and Sithole, one of the most respected sports administrators in the world, recently indicated that he now wants to make a comeback as the organisation’s secretary-general, a post which is being currently held by Khaled Zein El Din of Egypt.

Sithole, the former president of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, was a member of the Anoca executive committee since 1989 and its secretary-general from 1997 until his appointment into office as the International Olympic Committee’s Director of International Co-operation and Development in 2003.

And after spending the past 10 years working as the IOC’s Director of International Co-operation and Development, Sithole is now seeking greener pastures elsewhere and he will be contesting for the Anoca secretary-general’s post at the elections that will be held during the organisation’s General Assembly in Abidjan on July 11. Sithole yesterday said his campaign was looking good and he was confident of winning the hot seat, come the July 11 polls.

“My campaign’s looking good (and) the numbers are looking good. But I’m not taking anything for granted. I am very respectful of the electorate. It’s their vote. I keep talking to them, giving them my reasons for standing, my capability, what I have in mind and blessed with their vote, what I could bring to the table. I keep requesting for their vote.

“This weekend battleground is Lausanne, Switzerland. All 204 National Olympic Committees converging for the Extraordinary General Assembly. I will distribute material, pump a lot of hands and talk a lot to African delegates. I want to thank you all for your continued support.

We have just a few more weeks to go and a few steps more to take before that fateful July afternoon in Abidjan. We are not there yet. It ain’t over until the fat lady sings, as the saying goes,” Sithole said on his Facebook wall yesterday.

In fact, all nominations for next month’s Anoca elections are in after the May 31 deadline.
Current president Intendant Lassana Palenfo has retained his post unopposed while there are two candidates for the first vice-president’s post and a similar number of contestants for the second vice-president’s position.

Three candidates have been selected for the third vice-president’s position while a fourth post has been reserved for a woman and there will be three people who will be vying for this sole place in the Anoca Executive Committee. Two candidates — Sithole and Egypt’s El Din — were nominated for the secretary-general’s post while there are three candidates for the treasurer’s position.