On Sunday, 18 September, IMMAF’s African federations met to create the African MMA Confederation (AMMAC) to facilitate IMMAF’s process of developing the sport in the region in its ongoing pursuit for Olympic recognition. This is the second continental structure to be officially launched following the announcement of the Asian MMA Federation.
It was a historic moment as members of AMMAC met for its second time on 18 November to formalise the board, which consists of directors from four regions. Mixed Martial Arts Federation Mauritius President Avinash Goowtamsingh Ramtohul was appointed as President. The three other appointments that were made are as follows:
Vice President: Guy Bertrand Olomo (Cameroon)
2nd Vice President: Benjamin Bush (Zambia)
General Secretary: Jason Brown (South Africa)
The AMMAC aims to aid one another in developing good governance, youth and competitive athletes, coaches, technical officials and recreational participants. Future members will be enrolled and welcomed to the AMMAC as an extension of IMMAF membership.
Following his appointment, President Avinash Goowtamsingh Ramtohul commented:
“For me personally, I feel honoured and privileged to have this post. We have a lot of work to do and will eventually have a big job structuring everything and making MMA one the highest performing sports in Africa.”
Looking ahead to what AMMAC hopes to achieve, he added:
“The people who are excelling got the opportunity outside of Africa, like Francis Ngannou and Israel Adesanya. They had to leave Africa to get opportunities. This means that we have lots of great talents in Africa, and that is why we need to work and bring opportunities to these people and set up the platform, the good environment and facilities to grow in Africa.”
