FIA President Jean Todt opens African Sport Regional Congress

25.08.16

The second FIA African Sport Regional Congress got underway today in Addis Ababa, with 38 delegates taking part, representing 18 ASNs, from 12 different countries on the African continent.

FIA, Motorsport, Mobility, Road Safety, F1, WRC, WEC, WTCC, World RX

FIA President Jean Todt began his speech by thanking the hosts, the Ethiopian Motor Association for their hospitality and its President, Ermias Ayele, and FIA Vice President Surinder Thatthi, for their extensive organisational work in the run-up to the event. 

“The first aim of this Congress is the development of your clubs, and with that, the practice of motor sport in your countries.  This is a priority for the FIA in this zone” – said Todt – “With few international events and few people practicing the sport, your clubs must face greater problems than elsewhere to develop their projects. This is why the FIA wishes to support you, in particular via the FIA Sport Grant Programme.”

Over the past two years, almost a million Euros has been granted to the African ASNs to support their activities and for the development of grassroots motorsport. For example, this included contributing to the creation of the Young Driver Academy in South Africa and the Karting Academy in Mozambique, as well other initiative linked to karting in Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda.

Todt stressed the need to develop in the field of karting, the first step especially for youngsters, which actually requires relatively limited resources in terms of investment and infrastructure. That is why Africa is one of the FIA regions chosen to develop slalom karting and why Ethiopia itself has been selected as the pilot scheme ASN for the continent. A first demonstration of this sport will take place tomorrow at the end of the day’s Congress business.

The other branch of motor sport to which Todt paid particular attention was rallying, a discipline in which Africa has played a significant part and indeed one in which the FIA President was a protagonist in the earlier part of his 50 year motor sport career.  “This discipline is currently experiencing issues due to its cost. The number of people practicing the discipline continues to decline” – said Todt – “The FIA Rally and Development Departments are working together to put in place regulations and a competition format that is better suited to your constraints, so that less expensive cars can participate in these events.” 

Motor sport in Ethiopia first saw the light of day in the Thirties, thanks to the Italian presence in the country, which was then part of its empire. But the period of greatest development ran from 1965 to 1973, when rally and race events were held on temporary circuits. 

Political events that affected the country from 1974 onwards saw all motorsport stop until 1992, when the Ethiopian Motorsport Association gradually started to put on motor sport events in the country. In fact, its development was one of the topics discussed by Todt in high level meetings held in recent days with senior State officials, beginning with President Mulatu Teshome, to whom he underlined the role of the FIA as the promoter of responsible motor sport.

 “A specific, planned, prepared areas like circuits, promulgated by FIA, designed with all safety measures including safety devices on cars, is what we promote” – Tod said talking with the media – “We have the prescription, around education, law enforcement, road infrastructures, vehicles and post crash care, and we’re ready to impart knowledge on them to our Ethiopian colleagues”.