{"id":43293,"date":"2022-03-04T12:30:05","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T10:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/cycling\/rugby-africa-cup-2022-in-france-international-sports-press-association-aips-africa-call-out-rugby-africa-president-khaled-babbou\/"},"modified":"2022-03-04T12:30:05","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T10:30:05","slug":"rugby-africa-cup-2022-in-france-international-sports-press-association-aips-africa-call-out-rugby-africa-president-khaled-babbou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/cycling\/rugby-africa-cup-2022-in-france-international-sports-press-association-aips-africa-call-out-rugby-africa-president-khaled-babbou\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby Africa Cup 2022 in France: International Sports Press Association (AIPS) Africa Call Out Rugby Africa President Khaled Babbou"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"press-body-in\">\n                            <span><br \/>\n                                                            LAGOS, Nigeria, March 4, 2022\/APO Group\/ &#8212;<br \/>\n                                                        <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>The following is a statement by AIPS Africa (<\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.aipsafrica.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>www.AIPSAfrica.com<\/strong><\/a><strong>) President and AIPS Vice President, Mitchell Obi:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe the decision made by the president of Rugby Africa to host the African qualifiers\u00a0for the Rugby World Cup in provincial France, rather than keeping it on the African continent\u00a0is completely wrong, and sends a highly disturbing\u00a0message to all Africans, especially the young populace and the continent&#8217;s rising\u00a0 rugby community.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>People will rightly be asking themselves why the most prestigious rugby tournament on the\u00a0continent is being moved away and played in Europe, when there are plenty of alternative\u00a0locations within Africa that are perfectly well-equipped to host it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Playing the tournament in France not only deprives African audiences of watching world-class rugby on their doorstep, it also denies local economies of much-needed income from\u00a0a high-profile event that would have driven the tourism and hospitality industries, and\u00a0increased international exposure and investment.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, it is not even \u2018France\u2019 as a whole that is hosting this vital African tournament. No,\u00a0the Rugby Africa Cup 2022 is to be played in \u2018R\u00e9gion Sud\u2019, a region of France that ranks\u00a0seventh-lowest in terms of population, and is the furthest away from the capital, Paris.<\/p>\n<p>The games will be played in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille \u2013 a city that is the beating heart\u00a0of France\u2019s football scene, but is hardly known for its love of rugby.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The signing ceremony announcing the award of the tournament to \u2018R\u00e9gion Sud\u2019 was a perfect\u00a0illustration of how insignificant this tournament is in the minds of the sport\u2019s administrators.<\/p>\n<p>France\u2019s Minister of Sport was notable by his absence. So too the president of the French\u00a0Rugby Federation. Instead, the main dignitaries in attendance were the president of \u2018R\u00e9gion<\/p>\n<p>Sud\u2019 and the mayor of Aix-en-Provence &#8211; a town with a population of 143,000 football fans.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The Rugby Africa Cup has shrunk from a celebration of an entire continent, down to an unfancied provincial event in a distant sphere lacking the colour and charm of a welcoming host.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>At best, it is depressing and patronizing for the players and fans of African rugby. At worst, it\u00a0is an insult to the whole continent of Africa. It reinforces the stereotypical depictions that\u00a0Africa still endures in Western media, so it is incredibly disappointing that Rugby Africa\u2019s\u00a0president \u2013 an African himself \u2013 has chosen to follow this path.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The main reason he has given for his decision to host the competition in France rather than\u00a0Africa seems to center around \u2018mediatization\u2019 and visibility &#8211; with the argument being that\u00a0events hosted in Africa are somehow less accessible to international audiences.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>But one only needs to look at some of the events already being hosted in Africa to see that\u00a0argument is absurd. In fact, the opposite is true. More international sporting events than ever\u00a0are turning to Africa for hosting duties.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Even the International Olympic Committee is coming to Africa, with the Youth Olympics\u00a0Games to be held in Senegal in 2026 &#8211; the first time any Olympic competition will hold\u00a0on the continent.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Over the next five years Africa will host a wealth of prestigious international sporting events:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The 4th Summer Youth Olympic Games (Dakar, Senegal, 2026)<\/li>\n<li>UCI Road Cycling World Championships (Rwanda, 2025)<\/li>\n<li>Cricket World Cup (South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, 2027)<\/li>\n<li>Jeux de la Francophonie (Kinshasa, DRC, 2023)<\/li>\n<li>Africa Cup of Nations (C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, 2023)<\/li>\n<li>Africa Games (Accra, Ghana, 2023)<\/li>\n<li>African Beach Games (Tunisia, 2023)<\/li>\n<li>Netball World Cup (South Africa, 2026)<\/li>\n<li>The 22nd CAA African Senior Athletics Championships (Mauritius, 2022)<\/li>\n<li>Mediterranean Games (Algeria, 2022)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Incidentally, 3650 athletes will take part in this year\u2019s Mediterranean Games in Algeria,\u00a0while fewer than 200 will be on show at the Rugby Africa Cup. So, this is clearly not about\u00a0scale, logistics or infrastructure.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Anyone suggesting that Africa is \u2018not ready\u2019 or is in some way unsuited to hosting major\u00a0global sporting events is reinforcing old colonial stereotypes of arrogance and entitlement. It\u00a0is a laughable thought. The world has moved on and knows the promise which Africa holds as the choice host of events.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>As the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) in Africa, we have particular concerns about the ability of African sports journalists to access and effectively cover the Rugby Africa Cup in such a remote location. We have urgently reached out to Rugby Africa and to World Rugby to ask what is being done to help them secure visas, flights, and accommodation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>As the governing body and the custodians of the game, World Rugby could and should have\u00a0intervened in Rugby Africa\u2019s decision to host an African tournament on a different continent. By 2050, a quarter of the world\u2019s population will be African, and the sport is growing faster<\/p>\n<p>here than it is anywhere else. The future of world rugby is Africa. And it needs protecting \u2013\u00a0including from the President of Rugby Africa, if need be.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Sadly the decision to award hosting duties for the Rugby Africa Cup 2022 to a provincial\u00a0area of France was not and never made with the best interests of African rugby at heart.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>It is sincerely regrettable that the leadership of Rugby Africa made this miserable decision without deserving consultations with key Stakeholders and partners who over the years have stretched themselves to add value to the growth of the game in the continent. Here we are reminded of the lack of a vital reach and consultation with Rugby Africa&#8217;s main official sponsor (APO Group) whose Founder and Chairman, Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard is evidently at a loss with a decision entirely without merit and support even for any die-hard enthusiast.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>I earnestly hope such distinguished partners won&#8217;t lose their appetite to pad and lift the game inspite of this wrong patch.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Notably, the entire family of Sports Journalists across Africa and all those who care passionately for the health and growth of Rugby in the continent insist on the need to bring and keep home the Gold Cup where it rightly belongs and finds its shine.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>President Babbou must change gear without delay and forget his provincial French fancies.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitchell Obi<\/strong><br \/>\nAIPS Africa President<br \/>\nAIPS Vice President<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/press\/rugby-africa-cup-2022-in-france-international-sports-press-association-aips-africa-call-out-rugby-africa-president-khaled-babbou?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LAGOS, Nigeria, March 4, 2022\/APO Group\/ &#8212; The following is a statement by AIPS Africa (www.AIPSAfrica.com) President and AIPS Vice President, Mitchell Obi: \u201cI believe the decision made by the president of Rugby Africa to host the African qualifiers\u00a0for the Rugby World Cup in provincial France, rather than keeping it on the African continent\u00a0is completely [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/uploads\/socialshare.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3260],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-newsroom.com\/uploads\/socialshare.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/sport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}