By elliott West
As the years roll by so snooker continues to make inroads into new countries. One of these is Africa where it was recently announced that snooker would become a competitive sport in this year’s African Games. This is a landmark decision for snooker and one that will really put the sport on the snooker map in this tropical sub continent. The African Games were first staged in 1965 with 2,500 athletes from 30 countries taking part. This year’s games will celebrate the 12th edition of the event and will take place between 20th August – 1st September in Casablanca and Rabat Morocco.
This groundbreaking decision is largely due to the President of African Billiards and Snooker Association (ABSC), Mohammed El-Kammah and his tireless work and campaigning to make his dream become a reality. With confirmation now that member countries can now select players, non member countries are also being encouraged to join and bring new talent into the games by picking up a cue. This will ensure that snooker is strongly represented in Africa and create a growth base for the saplings of this sport.
Africa has had a long tradition of great players including the 1978 World Championship finalist Perrie Mans, a player who I did a blog on recently. Mans was a formidable player and got so close to winning at the Crucible but was pushed by an in form Ray Reardon. Perrie, a champion in his South African home lost 25-18 but showed no disgrace in defeat, producing true glimmers of his master class in the match. Other African players who made professional status include former British Open Champion Silvino Francisco and his nephew, Peter who rose as high as 14th in the World rankings and more recently competed in the World Games in Wroclaw in the summer of 2017.
Another great player in this region is the Egyptian Basem Eltahhan, who was the winner of the African Snooker Championship in 2017 and nearly caused a massive upset in the first round of the UK Championship in his first season, narrowly losing to Mark Selby, 6-4.
Mohammed El-Kammah, ABSC President said: “It is a dream that came true. Only 26 sports will be included in the African games and Snooker is one of them. Africa is a big continent and being in the African Games will create opportunities for every company working in the cue sports business. Players in Africa will be recognised for their achievement and probably talented players will be able to find sponsors and earn money. My next stop will be the Mediterranean Games and with the cooperation of my good friend Mr. Jason Ferguson, we will make it.”
Jason Ferguson,WPBSA Chairman said: “Any true global sport should reach out to every corner of the word to create opportunities for all. This is the true meaning of sport and is a further demonstration of development in cooperation with the WPBSA Group and the World Snooker Federation membership”.
“Africa as a region has always made a significant contribution to snooker and this will help to develop opportunities for funding which will help aspiring players across the continent. I would like to offer my profound gratitude to my friend Mohammed El-Kammah for his lifetime of work that has helped to make this possible.”
