The 19th ordinary working congress of the Confederation African Handball Federation (CAHB) was held in Doha, Qatar on the fringes of the 24th Men’s Handball World Championships - Qatar 2015.

The congress was held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel this morning and was attended by the International Handball Federation  President Dr. Hassan Moustafa and 41 member federations out of the 50 that make up the CAHB.

Among the main agenda was the activity report on the continent where CAHB President Dr. Mansourou Aremou categorised it into four sections; management, communication, key activities training and development.

Aremou expressed his gratitude with the continent’s new headquarters situated in Abidjan, Ivory Coast that was inaugurated last June. He pointed out the improved levels in terms of nations hosting competitions, expressing the need to deploy several efforts to improve procedures.

He questioned the system where Algeria, the continent’s defending champions, failed to win a match despite their title and with the lower-ranked nations, Tunisia and Egypt, qualifying to the second round of Qatar 2015.

“We should work on the issues of age when it comes to participation in the IHF Trophy,” said Aremou in relation to the age limit of the competition being Under 21.

“We want to cut down the cases [of teams putting in overage players] and eradicate it. This is the only opportunity for some nations to take part in an international competition,” said the official.

Aremou noted programmes in training of referees, delegates, coaches and journalists to improve the sport and its visibility within the continent.

He appreciated the efforts of the Fédération Malienne de Handball and Fédération de Handball du Congo in terms of structures saying if a nation wants to organise a competition they must have good structures in place with all provide to the CAHB website for the world to see.

He also touched on how to bridge the gap in women’s handball through laying down strategies and knowing how other continents excel in the section so it can be on par with the male game.

At the same time, the Federaçao Angolana de Andebol delegation was given an opportunity to showcase the progress of their preparations for the Women’s Africa Nations Cup scheduled next year, as well as the Egyptian Handball Federation who will prepare the Men’s Africa Nations Cup.

Also on the agenda was the admission of new members where South Sudan and Swaziland were awarded certificates of membership, with two more nations - Eritrea and Equatorial Guinea -yet to join in as Aremou asked Ethiopia to help assist their neighbours into membership.

The venue for the next congress was left as an open decision after a representation from the Fédération Rwandaise de Handball President.

By Rebecca Gichana, AIPS Young Reporter in partnership with the IHF