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Bertrand Mendouga, President of the African Boxing Federation, has big plans to revolutionize boxing on the African continent. In his first interview since being elected last July, Mendouga said: Peter Akimbo About these plans, setbacks, etc.
What are your plans and vision for boxing in Africa?
My commitment is to rebuild the trust and cooperation between AFBC management and the African National Federations, to support all African elite men’s and women’s championships, youth championships, junior men’s and women’s championships, elite men’s and women’s zones. Establishing regular and credible competitions in the category. Championship.
Where do you plan to have African boxing in the next four years?
My vision is to promote the visibility and competitiveness of African boxing federations in close proximity to other federations and international boxing bodies.
What do you think is missing in the management of boxing in Africa? How are you going to fix this?
Boxing in Africa suffers from a lack of funding and needs to rely on sponsorships to remedy this. Boxing needs a lot of investment if it is to be successful and be loved like football.
Looking at your scoresheet since you were elected in July, what have you accomplished in your goal to develop boxing on the continent?
Since the elections in Algiers on 16th July four months ago, I have already organized three Councils within the framework of my goals related to the development of boxing on the continent. One in Algiers on the night of my election, another in Maputo and on the sidelines of a championship I organized in the capital of Mozambique after the election.
We have also organized training courses for referees/judges to qualify for 1, 2 and 3 stars. Additionally, it distributed boxing equipment to 14 federations in Zone 4 in Maputo last November and 14 federations in Zones 3 and 2 in Addis Ababa in the same month.
I was then part of the IBA President’s retinue to conduct the cornerstone ceremonies for the construction of training centers in Rabat, Morocco and Kampala, Uganda. In addition, the AFBC headquarters will be opened in Yaounde, which will be launched by IBA President Umar Kremlev.
And for the first time in the history of the African Boxing Championship, a prize was at stake in Maputo last year. We see this as a great achievement in inspiring boxers and protecting their well-being. This also raises standards as African tournaments become more competitive with boxers competing for prize money.
What are the main obstacles to achieving your goals?
As mentioned earlier, an obstacle for AFBC to achieve its goals is funding. Once that is resolved, the rest is easy.
So what’s the game plan for tackling fundraising?
To reach our goals, we have to rely on sponsorships. To that end, we have set up a marketing committee. This committee will be responsible for sponsor participation and networking with the business world to see which products can be sold through AFBC and during the Championship.
Most African boxers I interviewed said that more tournaments would be introduced to keep them busy and ready for major international events, some only fighting once every two years. I hope What are your plans for that?
Through its Board of Directors, AFBC has introduced the elite men and women of the Africa Cup of Nations and has revived the African Youth and Junior Women’s and Men’s Championships.
Our Constitution also has the official introduction of Zones, not only the regular organization of Zone Championships, but also the Super Zone Championships, which are held each December in the Cameroonian seaside town of Kribi, culminating in all of champions, runners-up, and third teams in each zone, for a total of 12 teams.
Why do you think African boxers are not doing well in major world competitions like the Olympics and World Championships these days?
African boxers’ poor results at the world level are related to the lack of continental competition and constant exposure in major tournaments outside Africa.
For example, the last African Championships in Maputo came five years after the Brazzaville Games in 2017. That’s why we want to introduce more competitions to ensure boxers are always in good shape and to improve standards. I also call on our national federations to have their national teams participate in as many international tournaments as possible in order to improve their standards.
National federations should know that they play an important role in improving the standards of boxing in Africa. we have to work as a team. Whenever AFBC can help, it will help, but success can only be achieved through concerted efforts.
Do you think the heads of national federations are serious about improving boxing in Africa?
Lack of trust in the AFBC has chilled African national federations over the past five years. When I was elected, I said I was president not for one country, but for all of Africa, and promised to work with everyone. Since then, equanimity has returned to the ranks, and a certain enthusiasm and commitment have been noticed more and more within the Commonwealth. spur on.
In national federations, most federations do not have coaches or referees’ committees, but AFBC does. What are you doing to ensure consistency from AFBC to National Federations?
As far as I know, some African boxing federations have coaches and referees committees. Nevertheless, we will endeavor to harmonize these federations’ Statutes with the AFBC Statutes.
For example, the lack of such a committee allows executives in some federations to afford coaches of their own choosing, rather than being selected by a coaching committee for the national team. This sometimes led to mediocre performances by some national teams and undermined the development of boxing in Africa.
In this regard, in some countries, such as Cameroon, the appointment of a national boxing coach is left to the minister in charge of sport on the proposal of the president of the federation. In my opinion, it will be difficult for the committee to easily appoint a national coach.
Africa needs qualified people to referee major tournaments, are there any plans to organize a course for coaches and referees?
From July 16th in Algiers, we will be on the sidelines of each competition held in Africa, including the Zone Championships, for coaches, referee judges, evaluators, ITO, technical delegates, scoring machine operators and ring doctors. I promised to hold a course.
Are there plans for a gala dinner to recognize and reward African boxing icons like Samuel Peter, who have been largely ignored by past AFBC administrations?
At the Board meeting in Maputo last September, Board members pledged to honor former African boxing heroes and heroines, including former African boxing leaders, at the highest level. Adequate funding is required to effectively organize such functions. So once you’re financially okay, start honoring famous boxers and officers.
What is your position on the AFBC working with people in the professional boxing world?
In this regard, it is desirable that the IBA authorize the creation of a Professional Boxing Commission within the federation.
Are you going to defend your position in the next AFBC election and ensure you serve a second term?
My biggest concern at the moment is rebuilding and rebuilding AFBC for future generations.
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