Africa to Get Four New Olympic Swimming Pools in World Aquatics, ANOCA Accord
Africa will get a big improvement on its availability of Olympic pools, with four to be built on the continent in the coming years.
The project, announced Friday and first reported by Inside the Games, was struck at the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) summit in Algiers. The investment is in partnership with World Aquatics and the International Olympic Committee, with president Husain Al Musallam present for the meeting.
Pools will be constructed in Angola, Rwanda, Cape Verde and Lesotho. The agreement also provides funds to renovate the Olympic pool in Dakar, Senegal, which will host the Youth Olympic Games in 2026. Angola will host the African Youth Games in 2025, which includes aquatics.
“We are very happy to be in Algeria. We have signed this agreement to promote aquatic sports throughout Africa,” Al Musallam said in a statement. “This initiative goes beyond the construction of pools; it includes a comprehensive program for training coaches and workshops for African athletes. If we are successful with this program, we will undoubtedly see African athletes competing in the finals of the Olympic Games and World Championships, and possibly winning medals at the next Olympic Games.”
“This agreement will facilitate the construction of Olympic swimming pools in African countries that currently lack such facilities,” ANOCA President Mustapha Berraf of Algeria said. “These initiatives will strengthen the unity of the African sports movement, especially among young talents. We have also proposed the construction of a new pool for the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar to help prepare the athletes who will be taking part in this event.”
Al Musallam, the first World Aquatics president from Asia, has emphasized access and inclusion throughout his tenure. Often, that has taken the form of scholarships or grants for swimmers in countries that lack the facilities and instruction to go abroad. But allowing promising athletes to stay closer to home and build that expertise in their home countries has a chance to accelerate the pipeline of talent, with places for those groups to form a central tenet of that plan.