Prime Minister Dr Lawrence Gonzi has promised his support to the Maltese contingent that will proceed to Melbourne next year to take part in the Commonwealth Games.
He made his pledge at the Commonwealth Sports Breakfast on Saturday which he hosted, together with Mr Mike Fennell, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, at the Radisson SAS Golden Sands Resort & Spa, Malta.
The breakfast was attended by various Prime Ministers and Heads of States. Also attending the Conference were Dr Louis Galea Minister of Education, and Dr M. Frendo, Minister for Foreign Affairs, as well as Malta Olympic Committee Directors, and Ministry of Sports officials.
Mr Fennell said he was honoured by the presence of so many distinguished guests who had taken time out from their busy schedules to attend the sports breakfast this morning.
He stated that Sport is very important to all of us in our respective countries and the Commonwealth Games is arguably the most visible manifestation of the Commonwealth, its values, its dreams and its aspirations.
In 2002 we witnessed the celebration of the XVII Games in Manchester, England and recalled the super job that they did in organising those Games. He said that he strongly believes that this was a major factor in the successful bid by London for hosting the 2012 Olympic Games.
Mr. Fennell then commented that on 15 March 2006, just 108 days away, the opening ceremony of the XVIII will take place in Melbourne, Australia and all indications are that these Games will be extremely well organised with athletes from 71 countries and territories in 16 sports with fully integrated events for athletes with disabilities. Also, the future is on solid ground as in 2003 the CGF appointed Delhi, India as the host city for 2010, and next year the CGF will commence the process for selecting a city for 2014 for which the CGF has already received strong indications from Glasgow in Scotland, Abuja in Nigeria and a city in Canada yet to be chosen, that they will be submitting bids.
He then referred to the Queen’s Baton Relay, one of the traditional features of the Games and stated that on this occasion, and for the first time ever, the Baton will be visiting all 71 countries and Territories thus creating history. He stressed that Commonwealth Sport is more than just the Games and earlier this year the Secretary General appointed an advisory body on sport, ‘CABOS’, to assist in promoting sport on a much wider basis.
Dr Gonzi, also addressed the audience and said that the government of Malta acknowledges the value of sports in our lives. He added that the enormous growth of sport in the Commonwealth countries augurs well for the future. It was indeed a challenge for the CGF to retain the high standards attained so far in the Commonwealth Games which are attracting some of the best sporting talent in the world, he said. He concluded by saying that the values of sport and motto of the CGF ‘humanity, equality and destiny’ will be represented in Melbourne 2006.
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the outgoing Chairman of the Commonwealth and President of Nigeria, spoke on the importance of sport in the development of youths.
He said that the Commonwealth Games, for which Nigeria has bid for the 2014 edition, get nations together. He spoke about the positive experiences of Nigerian athletes and called for support for the Nigeria bid so that the Games would be held in Africa.
The Prime Minister of Australia, Mr John Howard, paid tribute to Commonwealth sports men and women and said that sport does overwhelmingly great things to our community. He said that his Government was launching a multi million dollar sport support programme to promote and encourage physical activity participation.
This programme will run from 2006 to 2011 adding that Commonwealth countries and other regions may benefit from this programme and wished every success for the Melbourne ‘06 Games.
Don McKinnon, Commonwealth Secretary General, talked briefly about the establishment of the Commonwealth Advisory Board on Sport (CABOS) saying that the aim of this body was to bring together sports experts from around the Commonwealth.
Ms Sue Campbell, Chair CABOS then went on to outlined the role of CABOS namely to promote the value of sport as a tool for technical and social development, (raising value standards, improve literacy and numeracy, improve behaviour in schools (reduce truancy) and cultivate citizenship); to promote health benefits of sport and physical activity; to build inclusive commitment through sport; to use sport to help develop leadership skills and participation in the community.
Mr Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, highlighted the City of London’s preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games.
He spoke on the relation of sport and young people and emphasised the impact of sport on the development of young men and women. He thanked all persons attending and expressed his hope that many of them will meet in Melbourne next year for the celebration of yet another Commonwealth event the XVIII Commonwealth Games and also to support fully the participation of outstanding athletes. The theme of the Games will be “united by the Moment”.
Commonwealth Games Federation President Michael Fennel brought the presentations to an end and reminded everyone that the United Nations had dedicated this year to Education through Sport thus emphasising the importance of sport.