By Arfang M.S. Camara
The Gambia Government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MOYS) and National Sports Council (NSC) on Friday successfully hosted the 5th edition of the African Sports Management Association (ASMA) conference in Banjul.
The ASMA conference which started last Wednesday and ended on Friday was meant to promote educational and professional sport management within Africa and beyond.
ASMA was founded in 2010 with a mission to strengthen sport management in Africa as an academic and a professional engagement.
Delegates that attended the three-day forum in Banjul came from The Gambia Kenya, Nigeria, among other nations.
Speaking during the opening, Saikou K. Sanyang, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Youth and Sports described the theme of the African Sports Management Association (ASMA) as “investing in grassroots sport, the surest way of achieving excellence in sport” as very apt considering the challenges and threats of the sport development aspirations.
He said such a theme demands urgent action and commitment and that he is convinced that deliberations of the Banjul ASMA conference will enlighten and pave the way for developing strategies, including local actions towards taking sports to another pedestal.
He expressed Government’s commitment to investing in sports to engage young people meaningfully.
Professor Kihumbu Thairu, President of ASMA said the lineup at the just-concluded conference will be useful in ensuring that participants make significant positive contributions towards the enhancement of sport management practices in Africa and beyond.
Lamin S. Jawara, chairman of the National Sports Council said his institution would give all that it takes to support the ASMA program in the country.
He urges associations and federations that participated at the event to make the best use of the opportunity, while expressing hope that the conference would create an opportunity for better sports management skills and achieved excellence in sports.
Marchel Mendy, executive director of NSC said the conference would help to build many bridges for the benefit of the continent.
Mr. Mendy added that the biannual event which started ten years ago has proved to be a catalyst for the development of Sport in Africa.
Meanwhile, the African Sports Management Association ASMA was established in 2010 in Kenya. It was inaugurated in Kampala, Uganda and since its inception, it has been held in Tanzania, Nigeria and Kenya.
The objective of the conference is to avail participants the chance to better understand African sport, through academic activities, research, publications, conference, exhibitions, and many other viable means.