Grateful to Habib Sissoko, sports federations respond to his detractors
As on the eve of each general assembly of the National Olympic and Sports Committee of Mali (Cnosm) or the Malian Federation of Judo and Jiu-Jitsu (FMJJ), the detractors of President Habib Sissoko have again relaunched their campaign of denigration, slander and defamation. The denials of the federations and other actors of sport and Olympism do not change anything. As for the one who prevents them from sleeping soundly, he has always relied on God by making his own the adage according to which the dog barks the caravan passes.
These days, they have found nothing better than to try to intoxicate public opinion by making it believe that the rag is burning between Habib Sissoko and the Malian Judo and Jiu-Jitsu Federation (FMJJ) of which he is nevertheless the president. of honor.
Thus, on social networks, on November 20, 2022, they circulated the rumor of an alleged humiliation of the president of Cnosm by members of the federal judo office during the presentation of the medal won by judoka Sory I. Sacko at the 2022 edition of the Dakar International Open (Senegal, November 12 and 13, 2022).
A rumor immediately denied by the FMJJ, which held on Monday November 21, 2022 to bring “a firm denial of this allegation”while inviting “the colleagues, our privileged partners, to come to the source before publishing anything concerning him”.
And to continue: “The Executive Committee and the entire Malian Judo and Jiu-Jitsu Federation remain grateful to the President of the National Olympic and Sports Committee of Mali, Habib Sissoko, for all that he does in the context of the promotion of judo in Mali”. And a federal official adds: “For our outings, we are often supported by the president of Cnosm”. Couldn’t be clearer.
Wanting to minimize the contribution of President Sissoko (director of judo development for Africa of the International Judo Federation – IJF after having been president of the Malian Federation and the African Judo Union – AJU) to the development of sport, in particular judo is pretending to hide the moon with a blanket.
As national judo coach Tiéfing Sissoko said, “Habib is a potential ally for the development of sport in Mali, especially judo”. The author of this attempt to intoxicate public opinion has been identified and he is well known in the Malian judo family for his unfortunate and unsuccessful attempts to take control of the Federation.
The proof that he seriously lacks credibility to benefit from the confidence and the vote of the actors of Malian judo. And for him, it is Habib who is responsible for his failures and not his incompetence in the positions he held at the different levels of management of this martial art.
Ideal scapegoat for thwarted personal ambitions
It is the same for those who want to make believe in national opinion that it is the president of Cnosm who is the main beneficiary of the partnership contract which binds him to Moov Africa Malitel. Curiously, at each competition, federal officials seize the opportunity to salute the leadership of the latter and to magnify this partnership which, for years, has enabled the National Sports Federations (FSN) to multiply competitions at the national level. In other words, this sponsorship contract bodes well for the promotion and development of noble art in our country.
“I salute the benevolence of the president of the Cnosm, Habib Sissoko who kindly contacted Moov Africa Malitel so that all the sports federations could breathe financially because without money it is impossible to carry out the activities. With this funding, we are able to carry out all our programs”recognized Colonel Abdoulaye Kéïta (1st vice-president of the FMJJ) during an interview granted to our colleagues from “Today-Mali”.
And in terms of managing the funds allocated by the incumbent telecommunications operator in Mali, the audits (internal and external) have never called into question the transparency with which they are managed. As several federal officials have explained to us, before each competition, the Federation submits an estimate to the Cnosm accounts and the amount decided is made available to it to carry out the scheduled activity. Once the activity is over, she collects the supporting documents to hand them over to the accounts department.
And to be entitled to funding for a new activity, these supporting documents must meet the criteria.
“You know, frankly the president of Cnosm is a trustworthy person, a good partner, generous and sociable. He takes so many hits that if he considered that, he wouldn’t do anyone any good. It was he who approached Moov Africa Malitel and PMU-Mali so that these two entities could support the national sports federations so that they could hold activities”testified Colonel Abdoulaye Kéita in the columns of “Today-Mali”.
The birds of bad omen can continue to pour their bile on the president of Cnosm (by hounding him out of gratuitous wickedness), but the leaders of our federations know what this partnership brings them. And we say it without fear, without demagoguery and without complacency: Habib has always been present for the press and without demanding anything in return but respect and support for sports activities! Both for journalists (in their personal capacity) and for press organs and organisations. Certainly, this should not be a pretext for a partisan treatment of information in his favor. But neither is it grateful that we lend our pens and our microphones to people who are angry with him just out of jealousy, hypocrisy or gratuitous malice. Especially since those who fuel these calumnies and this cabal never dare to face it openly because they know that they cannot objectively reproach it for anything.
The proof is that all the general assemblies of the Cnosm are sanctioned by a motion of support (adopted unanimously by the federations) in recognition of its leadership, its vision and its immense contribution to the development of sport in Mali. Not to mention all these distinctions of recognition which are regularly awarded to him in the country, in Zone II of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (Acnoa), on the continent and on the international scene! Alphaly
