The
Supreme Council for Sports in Africa, or the S.C.S.A.,
was founded In
1965, by its first President and at the time the Interior Minister of
Congo Brazzaville, André Hambessa.
But, apart, from using the name for the initial purpose of
organizing
"The First
ALL African Games" in his own country,
Minister Hambessa did not define the structure of
the Council as a Continental
Organization.
Interestingly, the official founding Conference of
the S.C.S.A, in Bamako 1966,
was
equally vague on the issue of the organizational
structure
of the Supreme Council.
As a result
of this
ambiguity from the very
outset;
the S.C.S.A., was never legally mandated to represent or lead
African sports, nor was it made responsible to any
properly defined
Continental constituency. Its obscure power base emanated from a tricky recognition of the
all African games, by the summit of the Organization of African Unity,
held in Kinshasa, in 1967.
This
situation was misused by the
Second President,
Chief Abraham Ordia, and the Secretary General,
Jean Claude Ganga; to
conveniently
avoid elections and hold on to their positions for the most part of
the Council's early years. Encouraged by the
continued backing from ill-informed African politicians and the
big name attached to this otherwise hollow organization, the
two men went further to claim undue authority over the continent's
autonomous National Olympic Committees and Sports Confederations. The first victim of this intrusion
was the better organized African Football Confederation, which was
constitutionally founded eight years earlier than the Council itself.
During
the Congress of the African Football Confederation held in Addis
Ababa, In January of 1968; Jean Claude Ganga ventured to suggest that
the Supreme Council co-ordinate the activities of all sports
bodies in Africa. Yidnekatchew
Tessema, explained, "
The Confederation is an autonomous entity, responsible only to its member associations on the continental level, and to F.I.F.A. on the global level, it can not
therefore possibly go beyond co-operation with the Supreme Council". The resolution
of this Congress agreed on co-operation;
implying the relationship would be between two independent
organizations. The first attempt to
control the Confederation in
the name of co-ordination was successfully blocked
in this manner.
Thereafter,
the Council's strategy changed to creating dissent
within the continent's football family. It encouraged football players
and Clubs to come forward with their grievances, indirectly pretending
that it is the superior authority on the continent's football matters.
It also became the self appointed provocative fault-finder on the
Confederation. These interferences in the affairs of the
Confederation, were subjects of endless
controversy; although detractive to the Confederation, they were
affordable full time jobs to the Council's idle officials, who
had no other meaningful mission of their own. Protecting the autonomy
of the Confederation from the grasp of such individuals was not an
easy affair. In the end, Secretary Ganga believed the
supremacy of the Council, can only be
realized with Yidnekatchew out of
the way; to achieve this, he befriended Yidnekatchew's foes in
Ethiopia, Africa and even on the global level,
deliberately
widening the battle front.
One of many news paper clips
of those days.
The
differences between the
two were further exasperated when Yidnekatchew Tessema took the lead in reacting to the
International Olympic Committee's provocative decision to invite
Apartheid South Africa to the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Yidnekatchew's
declaration that "Ethiopia, the country of legendary "Abebe Bikila,"
winner of two successive Olympics Marathon Gold Medals, will boycott Mexico
68 if the invitation was not withdrawn", received the Support of many
African and then socialist European Countries as well as Cuba and
Black Athletes from the United States Olympic team; forcing
the International Olympic Committee to withdraw its invitation at the
last minute and for the last time in the history of the Olympic Games. Ganga felt the centre stage was unfairly taken away from the
S.C.S.A.. He failed to comprehend that the Supreme Council was not a
mandated Association of the National Olympic Committees of
Africa.
Ganga & Yidnekatchew at the Ethiopian Embassy in Mexico 1968
Two years later, Yidnekatchew Tessema proposed proper restructuring of the
Supreme Council, into
an effective participatory Council of the Sports Ministers, the
National Olympic Committees, and the Confederations of African
sports. Nevertheless, any
discussion and implementation
of this useful proposal
was again indefinitely postponed by the
leaders of the Council.
As can be seen in the letter below, the
President,
Chief Abraham
Ordia, was more concerned about the circulation of the proposal than
the need for reform.
At this juncture the Council's importance,
both within and outside of the Continent was
dwindling. Its flagship, the "All African
Games",
was
beyond the the hosting
capacity of almost all African Countries; hence,
the second Games in Nigeria, (the Country of the President), had to be
held a long eight years after the first in Congo Brazzaville,
(the
country of the Secretary General).
All told, the early
years of the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa were totally uneventful.
As can be
seen in the following letters,
the Council's stand on issues related to the struggle against
Apartheid and the Rebel regime in Rhodesia, were also inconsistent at
best.
Comparatively; from its
establishment in 1957, the more successful African Football
Confederation had hosted its biannual Continental Nations Cup editions
without interruption. It had also started annual Club competitions. The popularity and the tremendous all round
development of the Game was visible every where in the Continent.
The Confederation's
success in the struggle against Racial discrimination and
Colonial attitudes was by far superior; it
had suspended Apartheid in 1957, and
expelled Rhodesia from membership, only days after
Ian Smith's unilateral declaration of independence.
It was this
desperate situation the Council, that finally motivated J.C. Ganga to
attempt a come back through
a totally
unnecessary boycott blackmail of
the Montreal Games in 1976. After successfully
obtaining an all African boycott threat from the Organization of African Unity,
on the poor pretext of a New Zealand Rugby encounter with South
Africa, he immediately traveled to Montreal,
and in an all too obvious display of self-advertisement,
he announced the boycott could be avoided if an
urgent appointment could be arranged for him
with the then I.O.C. President, Lord Killanin. The I.O.C.
was evidently not interested, unlike Mexico 68, this illogical
boycott call was not supported even by the traditional friends of
Africa. It all backfired; Lord Killanin refused to see him, New
Zealand was not expelled, some
African National Olympic Committees ignored the call and participated
in the Games. Due to Ganga's miscalculation, the divisive boycott
of
the Montreal Olympic Games, inflicted serious damage to the African
cause and image. In the end, the only losers were Africa, and African
athletes.
On his return
from Montreal, Yidnekatchew Tessema wrote the
following letters of protest:-
To J.C. Ganga
To Lord
Killanin,
the then President of the International Olympic Committee.
Three months later, African
Athletes competed alongside New Zealand, in the I.A.A.F. World
Athletic championship, in Düsseldorf, former West Germany. Although
the essence of the pretext for the controversial boycott of Montreal
had not changed, Mr. Ganga did not object!! After observing this very
suspicious inconsistency, Yidnekatchew Tessema remarked:- "Mysterious Africa!!".
In his 1982 book "Apartheid, The
Real Hurdle", Sam Ramsamy, had also proclaimed that the Montreal
boycott in protest against New Zealand sending its National Rugby team
to South Africa, was a success, supported by nineteen African
Countries. He deliberately avoided any mention of the failure of this
boycott in discouraging future Rugby contacts with Apartheid,
and more
importantly, the historic fact, that Africa
did not boycott any of the successive Games,
in which Countries that continued their Rugby contacts
with Apartheid South Africa had participated. Mysterious
Africa!!
The situation
became more of a puzzle, when the blunderer Supreme Council for Sports
in Africa, was recognized as a specialized Agency of the Organization
of African Unity at the summit in Libreville-1977. Mysterious Africa!!
African sports leaders had enough, they
decide to remove J.C. Ganga.
But, African Sports leaders had
seen
enough, they launched a campaign to remove
Ganga from office. The campaign got the support of
Canada, which did not forgive his last minute
surprise attempt to disrupt the Montreal Games.
Canada's influence with the Council
of French speaking African Sports Ministers,
helped new comer Mr. Lamine Ba, of Senegal, to defeat
Ganga 24/20 votes, during the election on 18 December 1979.
For Yidnekatchew Tessema, the issue was not the removal of
the individual, but the total restructuring of the Supreme
Council as per his suggestion of 1970. Therefore to the follow-up round table in Tunis, 19-22
November 1980, he submitted a study, which
In line with the requirements
of the I.O.C & International Federations,
called for the establishment of autonomous Association of National
Olympic Committees, and autonomous union of the Continental
Confederations, that would together with a Ministerial General
Assembly constitute the Supreme Council of African Sports. The round table accepted the proposal in its entirety and after receiving
positive feedbacks from all member countries, it setup a three persons
Ad-Hoc Committee, consisting of; Yidnekatchew Tessema, Lamine Diack, and Lamine Ba,
to work on the the final draft.
Accordingly, the new African
Sports Structure prepared in this manner was adopted by the Congress
of member countries, in Lome, Togo, in June of 1981; heralding the
establishment of today's Association of National Olympic Committees
and the Union of African Sports Confederations. As can be seen in
the letters below the handover was neither clean,
nor, easy.
At its first all inclusive
meeting in Yaoundé, on May 07 1983, the Executive Committee of the new
Supreme Council for Sports in Africa, acknowledged Yidnekatchew
Tessema as " The author of the new structure for the management of
African sports".
First Congress of the reformed
S.C.S.A.
This workable structure, has been
in use ever since;
Mr. Ganga himself, benefited from the reform when he was elected
President of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa
in 1989.
Seven years
after this conflict was resolved, Yidnekatchew Tessema supported
Ganga's candidature to I.O.C. membership. Explaining the change of
heart, he said; " Despite all else, Ganga is at least vocal in
International Congresses". Immediately after his co-option, Ganga
visited then seriously ill Yidnekatchew at a Hospital in Lausanne,
apologized for the past, and expressed gratitude for the support which
he obviously did not anticipate.
Nevertheless,
Ganga did not change; only ten months after Yidnekatchew Tessema
passed away, he again conspired with the I.O.C. to distort the history
of the struggle against Apartheid in sports. Click here for more on
the shameless alteration.
In 1990, the
African Football Confederation inexplicably awarded J.C. Ganga the
Order of Merit in Gold!! It may be appropriate to forgive him for his
early attempts to deprive the autonomy of the Confederation, but the
undue award had belittled the highest recognition of merit enshrined
in this medal.
Mr. Jean
Claude Ganga was finally expelled from the International Olympic
Committee, as the number one culprit in the famous Salt Lake City
Scandal.
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Tessema
