China to stage 'best Winter Olympics'

China is primed to stage the best Winter Olympics, the president of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), Mustapha Berraf, told Xinhua.

Berraf, who was elected president of ANOCA for a second term in 2018, said "the participation of Africa in the Beijing 2022 Games will be symbolic and a challenge at the same time regarding the low number of qualified athletes". "Africans are both proud and glad to be present in Beijing 2022," he added.

Hailing China's distinguished track record of staging major events, Berraf said: "I remember how amazed I was when I attended the Olympic Games of 2008 in Beijing, and I'm certain that the Winter Games which will kick off on Feb 4 will be the best once again."

Berraf reiterated the support of ANOCA to Beijing 2022 amid threats from some Western countries not to send officials to the Games.

"As president of ANOCA and a member of the International Olympic Committee, I reaffirm that politics should be kept away from sports," he said.

"China is organizing the biggest sports event in the world, and all the parties that are attempting to put political pressure on Beijing should know that these Games are related to young athletes, joy and performance, and have nothing to do with politics, as stated in the Olympic Charter."

"ANOCA, which I chair, was among the first international associations to endorse the Winter Olympics Beijing 2022 through an official message to the Chinese Olympic Committee at the time that some politically manipulated parties tried to hinder the organization of the Games on the pretext of a lack of time and other baseless political reasons," he added.

"I'd say that China has the most experienced and most skilled personnel in terms of the organization of great events, and I'm confident that the organization of the Winter Olympics next month will be the best ever."

Xinhua