Africa Station, a fan zone dedicated to celebrating African culture and sport at Paris 2024, was officially inaugurated today.
International Canoe Federation President Thomas Konietzko, Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa President Mustapha Berraf and Mayor of Ile-Saint-Denis Mohamed Gnabaly were all present at the opening.
ICF Secretary General Richard Pettit, Vice President Cecilia Farias, Vice President Lluis Rabaneda i Caselles, Confederation of African Canoeing President Joao Manual Da Costa Alegre Afonso and ICF Board Member Ahmed Mahamoud Abdoulkader also joined the celebrations.
Children from the area took part in the activities and tried out Dragon Boat.
ICF partners BYD and NELO provided the equipment for paddling, with the former supporting the Dragon Boat activity.
“The Africa Station was created for young people and children from the working-class areas around here,” ANOCA President Mustapha Berraf said.
“The Mayor and I thought that these youngsters needed to participate in the Olympic Games in a more inclusive and passionate way.
“We talked to the ICF, and they took great care of providing us with boats and they involved their technicians to train young people of this area who may be tomorrow’s champions.
“Canoe is a means of transportation which exists in many African countries and it is a means of survival because many African men and women use it to fish and to move from one place to the other.
“Africa is a huge continent surrounded by rivers and many jungles and I think learning how to paddle will be so big that it would be hard to keep up with the demand.”
The opening also saw ICF members get in the Dragon Boat, with Paris 2024 Mascot Phryge dropping in.
A powerful performance from Batucada band named Troupe Batukavi from Grenoble was a highlight at the inauguration.
The band featuring children have been cycling for 700 kilometres in the last 12 days, touring various Paris 2024 venues.
Previously, they have travelled to global sporting events such as Rio 2016 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup among others.
“We want to leave a legacy here with this project. It is not only about two weeks of competition in the Games. When we are leaving this city, we want to encourage more kids to take up our sport,” ICF President Konietzko said.
“Thanks to our partners BYD and NELO, the city of Ile-Saint-Denis and the Mayor and ANOCA for helping to establish this.
“This is not just for the locals, but for all tourists attending the Games and who are in the mood to exercise.
“Canoeing is a wonderful sport for everyone and we are happy to provide a stage to try it out.”
Speaking to the ICF at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet also spoke glowingly about the project, saying: “It’s great that there is this open discussion with Africa.
“We all know that we have to develop different countries to make it more universal. It’s not completely the case at the moment so to see Africa with canoeing it is great.”
For more details on the Africa Station, contact ICF coordinator Jean Christophe Gonneaud at jc.gonneaud@canoeicf.com.
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