By Arfang M.S Camara
The National Sports Council (NSC) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) through the Government of The Gambia will host the Africa Sports Management Association (ASMA) conference in the country from 23-25 February 2022.
The National Sports Council made this disclosure through its deputy executive director, at a press conference held at the Independent Stadium in Bakau on Saturday.
The African Sport Management Association (ASMA) was founded on 8th June 2010 during the 17th Biennial International Conference of the International Society for Comparative Physical Education and Sport held at Kenyatta University, Nairobi (Kenya).
The decision to establish ASMA was unanimously agreed upon by the delegates as one of the resolutions of the conference.
The conference will conduct research on various areas of interest in Gambian Sports. The research will serve as a National Sport Databank for credible sources of information on challenges and possible solutions for NSC,” said Mahmoud Lamin Jawla, deputy executive director at NSC.
Mr. Jawla added that the conference will also provide a platform to establish cooperation with other recognition sport management related organisations within and outside Africa with a view to promote sport and its management sciences.
According to him, the conference will also offer a platform for The Gambia to network and learn best practices from other countries.
He further said that they would also use the conference as a tool to inform policy formulation and sports development.
Mr. Jawla said standards of governance and effective sports structures greatly influence the outcome on sport participation and the level of performance in different countries.
He added that most governments spend huge amounts of money in the promotion and development sport in order to cut on healthcare spending and improve the general wellbeing of its citizens.
Meanwhile, the vision of ASMA is to be a renowned African forum for promotion of educational and professional sport management as well as in the management of sport-related disciplines within Africa and beyond.