Brazzaville hosts Chef de Mission meeting ahead of All-Africa Games

The respective Chefs de Mission of the competing nations at the All-Africa Games have attended a meeting in Brazzaville ©ANOCA

A Chef de Mission meeting ahead of the 11^th All-Africa Games has been held in the Congolese capital Brazzaville, where participants got the chance to view how preparations for the event were going first hand.

The general feeling among the attendees was positive after they got a tour of some of the venues, most of which are based in Kintélé, a northern suburb of the capital.

They first viewed the sports infrastructure and the Games Village, which has been heavily invested in by the Congolese Government to the tune of around 380 billion Congolese Francs (£274 million/$409 million/€378 million).

The Kintélé Sports Complexfeatures several impressive sporting arenas, including a 60,000 capacity football stadium, a 10,000 capacity multi-purpose complex with a warm-up area, a 3,000-seater swimming venue and two 1,000 capacity tennis courts.

Also included at the site, which is set to be the central hub of the All-Africa Games, are two handball fields, competition grounds for beach volleyball, an eight-track bowls ground and a venue specifically for beach football.

“Looking at the progress of work at the various facilities that we have inspected, notably the Games Village and the Sports Complex, we believe, six months to the Opening Ceremony of the All- Africa Games, that Congo has gone a long way,” African Union Sports Council (AUSC) interim administrator Michel Tchoya said.

“We have every reason to be satisfied and have no worries.”

During the Chefs de Mission meeting, participants were treated to a tour of venues ahead of the event in September — During the Chefs de Mission meeting for the All-Africa Games in Brazzaville, participants were treated to a tour of venues ahead of the event in September ©ANOCA

From there, the respective Chefs de Mission inspected the Alphonse Massamba Debat Stadium, another multi-sport venue where football, outdoor volleyball, basketball and other sports are set to take place.

As well as a venue tour, the participants took part in a series of talks and they got the opportunity to take a look at documents that have been prepared for the Games, such as general rules and regulations, the schedule of events and technical procedures surrounding qualification.

The build-up to the event has been uncertain across Africa but Tchoya, involved in the body who are tasked with the overall organisation of the Games, is convinced they will be a success.

“The African Union Sports Council strongly believes that this maiden meeting of Chefs de Mission sets the pace for the last lap of concerted actions that will culminate in the resounding success of the 50th anniversary Games in September 2015,” he added.

The 50^th anniversary of the All-Africa Games returns to the scene of the inaugural event in 1965 and is set to feature 22 sports during the competition, which is due to take place from September 7 to 17.