Last Thursday, September 21, 2017, Professor Mohamed Belmahi, President of the Royal Moroccan Cycling Federation, was re-elected as a member of the Executive Office of the International Cycling Federation, representing Africa, during the 186th General Assembly held in Bergen, Norway, on the sidelines of the World Cycling Championship.
Belmahi, a member of the Moroccan National Olympic Committee, was chosen to represent the African continent after beating out candidates from South Africa, Seychelles, and Rwanda.
Dr. Belmahi confirmed, in a statement to the press, that his re-election as representative of the African continent in the Executive Office of the International Cycling Federation constitutes a recognition by the international sports organization and the 196 member countries of the International Federation of the interest that His Majesty King Mohammed VI attaches to sports in general and cycling in particular. And his continued support for the national Olympic movement and its values.
Belmahi considered that his election during this conference is an affirmation of Morocco’s strong involvement in the sports field, expressing his satisfaction at the renewed confidence in his person to represent Morocco and the African continent in this international forum and an incentive for him to make more efforts to raise the level of management of this type of sports internationally.
He added that his selection for this position for a second term strengthens Morocco’s strategy in the sports field and the confidence of the members of the International Cycling Federation in the Kingdom’s experience at the level of management and the work carried out by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Moroccan National Olympic Committee in order to achieve results at the continental and international levels.
The Executive Office of the International Cycling Federation, which includes 11 members, is responsible for supervising the management of cycling at the international level.
Norway is currently hosting the World Cycling Championships, which conclude its activities on September 24th, and has been supervised by the International Federation since 1927 for males and since 1958 for females.
Qatar hosted the World Championship in 2016, Florence in Italy (2013), the Spanish city of Ponferrada (2014), and the American city of Richmond (Virginia) (2015).
By hosting this sporting event, the city of Bergen seeks to promote and develop sport in Norway, and to establish its position as one of the ten best countries in the field of cycling.
It also aims to make the international event suitable for further construction and facilitation of cycling paths in this Scandinavian country