The quadrennial General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) held in Abuja, Nigeria, recently saw the election of Gambia Softball Association president, Ms Beatrice Allen, to the position of deputy president, Observer Sports has gathered.

In the spirit of women empowerment, the African Olympic body conceded the fourth vice president to women, and the much-travelled Gambian lady who doubles as the first vice president of the Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC), added yet another title to her name after defeating three other contestants in Ms Dagmawit Girmay from Ethiopia, Ms Teresa Filomena Da Costa from Angola and South Africa's Hajera Kajee.

Ms Allen, a shrewd international sports politician, also serves in the executive committees of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as well as the International Softball Federation (ISF). As a key position holder in over four regional and international sports bodies, critics will surely wonder how the Gambia softball president can effectively execute her duties. Meanwhile, Ivory Coast's Lassana Palenfo retained his seat as ANOCA president after beating Cameroon's Hamad Kalkaba Malboum in a two-man race.

Reports in the Nigerian media however had it that the two-day congress held between July 6 and July 7, 2009, in Abuja and attended by the 53 member-nations of the African Olympic family was marred with bad politics and lack of transparency. "There was lack of transparency and this was a big mistake for Africa because everyone was pissed off," the source that attended the election exercise told Nigeria's Times Sport.