Game of musical chairs at the IOC. The American James L. Easton, the Colombian Andrés Botero Phillipsbourne and the Swiss Sepp Blatter returned their seats this Monday, August 3 in Kuala Lumpur. The first two remain in the place, but more discreetly, as honorary members. The Swiss leader is leaving the institution permanently.
In their place, two newcomers were inducted, mid-morning, in the vast hall of the Convention Center in the Malaysian capital. A Senegalese, Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye, president of the national Olympic committee of Senegal, member of the AFCNO (left in the photo). And a Serb, Nenad Lalovic (right), the solid boss of the International Wrestling Federation (World Wrestling). Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye, 66, answered questions from FrancsJeux.
FrancsJeux: What does this IOC election represent for you and for the Senegal Olympic Committee?
Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye: A continuity in the presence of Senegal within the institution, after Keba Mbaye, judge Youssoupha Ndiaye and Lamine Diack. It was good that Senegal, a French-speaking country, remained represented at the IOC. I was elected with 77 votes out of 83 votes cast. Thomas Bach assured me that it was a very good score. My arrival also makes it possible to maintain a balanced mix of French and English speakers.
On a personal level, what does this entry into the IOC mean?
A form of reward for my passion for sport. My original discipline is tennis. I gave a lot of my time there as a manager. Today I still get up at 3 a.m. to watch an Australian Open match on television. I will now try to change things, to make my contribution. But decisions at the IOC are made by the president and the executive board. I'm not part of it. It remains at the discretion of the president to entrust certain missions to members. I stand ready to take on those that Thomas Bach might want to entrust to me. I will, in any case, listen to Africa.
The question of an African candidacy for the Olympic Games is regularly raised. Are you in favor of it?
Of course. Today, this candidacy remains a working hypothesis. But in the current situation, a single country cannot reasonably be a candidate for the Games. The infrastructure would not allow this, particularly with regard to hotel capacity. The only possibility would be to bring together several neighboring African countries, to form a sort of pool of candidate countries. Today, Agenda 2020 allows it.
You did not vote for the host city of the Winter Games in 2022, Friday July 31. But what do you think of the election result?
Lausanne and Beijing, that seems like a normal result to me. A good choice. China maintains very strong relations with Africa.
On the other hand, you will vote in September 2017 for the host city of the Summer Games in 2024. How do you envisage this election?
It's too early to talk about it. I have just arrived, I do not have all the evaluation elements.
As a French speaker, will you stand behind Paris?
As you know, it is against IOC rules for a member to speak openly about their choice. I'm definitely not going to do it. Each city will present its project to us. Then, it will be played project against project.
