NIGER HOSTS INAUGURAL CEN-SAD GAMES (FEBRUARY 4-14, 2009)

UNCLAS NIAMEY 000100


PARIS FOR AF WATCHER

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SCUL PREL SOCI XA NG
SUBJECT: NIGER HOSTS INAUGURAL CEN-SAD GAMES (FEBRUARY 4-14, 2009)


1. Summary. Approximately 3000 young athletes and/or artists from
19 African states basked in the eleven days of sports and cultural
diversity competition that unfolded at the inaugural Community of
Sahel and Saharan States (CEN-SAD) Games in Niamey. Nigerien
President Mamadou Tandja and Prime Minister Seini Oumarou,
respectively, presided over the colorful opening and closing
ceremonies and their remarks noted the Republic of Niger would be
remembered for having hosted the first CEN-SAD Games. In his
opening ceremony remarks, CEN-SAD Secretary General Al Madani Al
Bazaadi (Libyan) praised President Tandja for his clairvoyance in
suggesting the concept of games "to help consolidate fraternal ties
and solidarity on the continent" and congratulated Government of
Niger Minister of Youth and Sports Abdoulrahamane Seydou for his
successful organization of the Games. The Republic of Chad was
announced as the next scheduled host of the CEN-SAD Games, slated
for February 2011 in Ndjamena. End summary.


2. In the weeks leading up to the February 4-14, 2009 event,
Nigerien President Mamadou Tandja urged his compatriots to show
national pride by working together to ensure that the first CEN-SAD
Games would be a success. The Nigerien people responded to Tandja's
call. Even a small collective of disgruntled Nigerien artists who
three days prior to the opening ceremony issued a public statement
to complain that they were pushed aside and had not been invited to
participate in the festivities, in the end, responded to the
President's appeal for all citizens to mobilize with the aim to
conduct a successful event and wished the organizers well with the
Games.



3. GON Cabinet Ministers and National Assembly Members, diplomatic
corps, traditional chiefs and the public (some via media coverage)
witnessed eleven delegations of 19 states registered for the games
participate in the opening parade of nations: Benin, Burkina Faso,
Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Chad, Togo,
Tunisia and Niger. The opening ceremony featured song and dance
performances by members of ethnic groups from each of the eight
regions of Niger and was capped with a spectacular fireworks
display. The eight other states that sent athletes and/or artists
to compete for gold, silver or bronze medals before the Games closed
were: Comoros, Cote D'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Guinea Bissau,
Mauritania, Senegal and Zambia. Male and female athletes competed
in eight sports: basketball, soccer, boxing, traditional wrestling,
judo, handball, table tennis, and track and field. In the cultural
diversity competition, artists competed in five disciplines:
photography, painting, sculpture, song and dance. The closing
ceremony, minus the fireworks, revisited an ethnic song and dance
formula. The Games' activities were given extensive media (print,
TV, radio) coverage.


4. Local businesses (hotels, food services/restaurants,
vendors/artisans) welcomed the opportunity to sell their respective
commodities or wares to the thousands of athletes and guests in
Niamey to participate in or attend the various events. CEN-SAD
Secretary General Al Madani, in closing ceremony remarks,
congratulated the Nigerien Government for the successful
organization of the Games and thanked the Nigerien people for their
warm hospitality throughout the eleven-day event. He announced the
venue for the next Games, slated for February 2011 in Ndjamena.

ALLEN