Beatrice Allen, presidential candidate for the 27th November 2021 Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) election on Monday 15th November 2021 launched her manifesto to communicate her reform agenda for 2021-2024 quadrennial at The Gambia Football Federation house.
Madam Allen, who is also an honoratry member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) disclosed her 10 key action points, vision, mission, core values among other strategic plans.
The manifesto is a declaration of Team Beatrice’s broad strategic goals and intention to achieve them in line with the core values of good governance, integrity and the Olympic Charter.
In her deliberations, Beatrice went on to explain that the vision of her team is to keep our nation on track for national and international sporting successes, and to transform sports in The Gambia .
Team Beatrice then unveiled the key poits as follows:
o Integrity: To implement all the components of good governance, including transparency, accountability and sustainability.
o Leadership: To be the proactive force towards achieving both national and international successes in sport.
o Inclusiveness: The NOC’s structural change, activities and deliverables will encompass all, irrespective of tribe, race, gender, age, or nationality.
o Excellence: Events, systems and delivered outcomes will be of the highest standard.
Cognizant of the size of the task ahead of us, from promoting grassroots and community sport development, lack of standard infrastructures, the need for qualified judges, coaches and referees and adherence to the WADA Code for clean sport, a good team can achieve it all.
As a reputable NOC with a clear track record of success, we believe every challenge will turn into an opportunity, and every weakness will turn into strength. This is the only way to achieve our common objectives as a people living in the same community and promoting the same course.
She further stressed that; her team of professionals will implement their vision for the development of Gambian sports in ten key action points (see below). In everything they do, their team will work to the highest standards of professionalism, excellence and integrity.
We agree with Amnesty International that, “human rights have a vital role to play in sport that is often overlooked”. Sport has a vital role to play in promoting equality among all people regardless of race, class, gender, orientation or ability. Sport fosters peaceful coexistence, social capital development and health promotion.
Ten Key Action Points
As aspiring president, I have identified the following ten action points as the top priorities for myself and my team for this quadrennial:
1. Promote Good Governance in the NOC and the National Federations at all times
· Based on the IOC’s Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance, my team will establish Good Governance framework for the Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) and all the affiliated National Federations. This framework will serve as the operational guidelines.
· We will implement reforms of the Olympic Movement to meet the requirements in the Olympic Charter and other existing regulations of the Olympic Movement.
1. Promote sports through financial support to NFs and revenue generation
· It’s not a secret that financing sport is among the biggest challenges National Federations and governments face. The GNOC takes this challenge very seriously and shall develop strategies for revenue generation and financing of National Federations, targeting high-performance through fair distribution guidelines.
· The need for sport financing and other forms of support to National Federations will form one of our core priorities.
National Federations will be supported on annual basis to help meet their basic operational obligations within the guideline of the Olympic Solidarity.
1. Promote diversity and participation of Women in Sports
· To encourage National Federations to support the integration and participation of Women in Sports. The GNOC will endeavour to meet the IOC established quota on women. My team will further implement gender equality into our Code of Conduct and hold forums and training that will enhance women’s’ participation in modern sport.
1. Community service for sustainability
· Social activities that will create a great impact in our communities, school and youth, will be launched by the GNOC as one of its social governance responsibilities. This will include the partnership with key stakeholders.
1. Encourage the development of high performance
· Through national and international partnerships, we can help in the contribution of building sporting infrastructure and support elite athletes with scholarships to high-performance centres. In addition, the GNOC will partner with the government and other interested partners to facilitate high-performance development strategies.
1. Improve collaboration with government and other key stakeholders
· The GNOC will foster a stronger working relationship with The Gambia Government, and other stakeholders. This will be achieved by supporting and contributing to the National Sports Development Agenda and ongoing dialogue and exchange of basic and public information
1. Focus on strategies leading to international sporting success
· It is the wish of every nation to register sporting success at international competitions. By investing in sport, governments can increase their medal counts in international competitions and enhance their global reputations. It is our intention that the GNOC under the leadership of Beatrice Allen will ensure that all hands are on deck to contribute to policies, strategies and programs that will lead to international sporting successes.
1. Promote the fundamental principles and values of Olympism
· Work on establishing a National Olympic Academy (NOA) for Olympic education in The Gambia. Through a partnership with the International Olympic Academy, schools and the University of The Gambia, the Academy will contribute to the education of young people, athletes, PE Teachers, and sports administrators on the ideals of Olympism. Furthermore, art competitions will be launch in schools and the communities in the promotion of the spirit of Olympism.
1. Athletes Career Development Support
· To ensure that the necessary programmes are in place to support athletes in their participation in the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Islamic Games, Regional, Zonal and National sports championships.
· This action point is also concerned with the wellbeing of athletes through their career transition. Athletes will be trained in entrepreneurship and other skills that will support their retirement transitions to ensure that they thrive and contribute to society beyond their physical peak.
1. Training and Development of Coaches and Sport Administrators
· Sports excellence and peak performance cannot be achieved in the absence of qualified coaches and administrators. Therefore, the GNOC under the leadership of Beatrice Allen will facilitate the training of coaches and administrators to guide the talent development program of elite athletes in the country.
Conclusion
By putting our efforts, hearts and minds together, and with the support of government, I am confident that we will achieve all the Ten Action Points and ensure a very bright future for Gambian sport.
My humble achievements as a leader, sport administrator and strategist have been delivered with an unwavering commitment nationally and internationally.
