Statement from Siphiwe Baleka
Interim President, Guinea Bissau Swimming Federation
Greetings and Welcome to the members of the media and everyone.
Today, we announce the establishment of the Federação de Natação da Guiné-Bissau (FNGB) which received its Certificate of Registration from the Ministry of Justice on April 12, 2022. Now that the Federation is recognized as a legal association by the laws of the Republic of Guinea Bissau, the people of Guinea Bissau will have new opportunities in aquatic development and especially competitive swimming. I would like to talk about these new opportunities, but first I want to tell the story of this historic moment.
Twenty years ago, in May of 2002, an effort was made to start a swimming federation. Elections were held and the elected President died one year later. Vice President Duarte Ioia became President and soon “the federation stagnated until it expired.”
Seventeen years later, in October of 2019, I competed in the First International Masters Swimming Championships held in Cairo, Egypt. I won six gold medals and on the awards podium, I held a flag representing my Balanta ancestors and the people of Guinea Bissau. A picture of this moment spread throughout Guinea Bissau and I became a hero to many people. O Democrata even named me person of the week!
Two months later, in January of 2020, I came to Guinea Bissau for the first time and was received as a hero. When I met with the Minister of Sports at the time, Mr. Dionisio Pereira, we discussed the possibility of me representing Guinea Bissau in the Olympics in Tokyo. Not only would I become the first swimmer to represent Guinea Bissau in the Olympics, but I would also become the oldest swimmer in Olympic history as well as the first African American to represent an African country in the Olympics. Because of this, the potential for publicity, sponsorships and endorsements was immense. It was my intention to use all of it to get resources and remain in Guinea Bissau to help build sports infrastructure in the country. This is what I told His Excellency, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, President of Guinea Bissau. I had a plan. My plan was based on what happened in Jamaica 26 years ago.
Back in 1988, the Jamaican bobsled team qualified for and competed in the Winter Olympic Games. Everyone thought it was a joke - the tropical island of Jamaica has no winter sports! How could they compete in the bobsled event at the Olympics? Against all odds and everyone’s expectations, they did compete and throughout the world they became a symbol for doing the impossible. Five years later, Walt Disney made a movie about the Jamaican bobsled team called Cool Runnings. The film won the hearts of people everywhere and made over $150 million dollars! After that, athletics in Jamaica increased, especially in Olympic events. Over the next 24 years and seven Olympic games, the number of Jamaican Olympic athletes increased 55%. Why couldn’t we do this in Guinea Bissau? So this was my plan. Go to the Olympics, win the hearts and support of the people of the world, make a movie about it, and use the money to train young athletes in Guinea Bissau.
So I put my plan into action. To make it all happen, the swimming federation had to be resurrected. Because of this, Duarte Ioia, who had done nothing since the Federation expired under his leadership, was made President of the Federation again in February of 2020. I did not know it at the time, but Mr. Ioia did not register the Federation with the Ministry of Justice nor did he draft a Constitution. Neither did he register with the Fédération Internationale De Natation (FINA), the global governing body of the sport. The rules for eligibility to represent Guinea Bissau in the Olympics required that I be a citizen, I live in Guinea Bissau for 12 months, and I compete in a designated Olympic qualifying event. Unfortunately, Mr. Ioia and Sergio Mane, President of Guinea Bissau’s Olympic Committee, failed in their duty to investigate the qualification procedures for swimmers and did not understand the eligibility requirements.
When the Guinea Bissau Olympic Committee and The Guinea Bissau Swimming Federation first announced their support to place me on the Guinea Bissau Olympic team for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, the global phenomenon started. I made the cover of Sports Illustrated and was featured in an eight page article. This magazine has over 12 million readers each month! Shortly after that, I appeared on the popular American tv show NBC’s Access Daily. For the first time, Guinea Bissau was receiving positive media attention in the American press. I signed a sponsorship deal with the Association of American Retired People (AARP). We started negotiations for a major Hollywood movie! Guinea Bissau was well on its way to having its own Jamaican-bobsled-movie-global phenomenon. And then, just before the Olympics, I was blocked from competing by the Fédération Internationale De Natation (FINA). The Guinea Bissau Olympic Committee refused to file an appeal or support me, so I filed a case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. While my case was being decided, I was held in detention in the Narita Airport in Tokyo for five days. During this time, no official of the Republic of Guinea Bissau contacted me or intervened for my release. To make matters worse, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled against me and stated that its decision was in part because of letters that Mr. Ioia and the Federation’s Secretary General, Aniceto Berardo, wrote to FINA alleging that I had hacked the Federation’s email account and submitted a fraudulent Olympic application! These officers of the unregistered Federation - my own people - lied to the court and sabotaged my chance to represent Guinea Bissau in the Olympics. Why they would do this to their own athlete is a question that hasn’t been answered and deserves an investigation. This is the story that until now, I did not tell. And there’s more to it, but I will save it for some other time. But as a result, I lost the endorsement and sponsorships, I lost the Hollywood movie deal, I lost everything including about 150 million XOF! (US$240,000).
Everyone knows that after the Olympics I have remained in Guinea Bissau. I was given citizenship because my ability to represent Guinea Bissau in international swimming competitions was deemed in the “national interest”. On my Guinea Bissau Identity Card, it lists my profession as an athlete. With no help to pay for my travel and training expenses which were promised to me by the Guinea Bissau Olympic Committee, the Swimming Federation and approved by the Prime Minister himself, I have been unable to practice my profession and have thus become unemployed and reduced to begging. Because of his shame and guilt for his role in the matter, Mr. Ioia came to visit me and apologized for what he had done. I forgave him and we agreed to work together. In October of 2021, my dream of representing Guinea Bissau came true when I competed in the 14th African Swimming Championships held in Accra, Ghana. Then, on October 25, Mr. Ioia resigned as the Federation President and named me Interim President until the Federation created a Constitution and held a General Assembly. The Constitution was created and approved by the Federation officers on January 29, 2022. It was only after this, however, that I received a Negative Certificate from the Ministry of Justice stating that no Federação de Natação da Guiné-Bissau was registered! So this became the priority - before we could do anything, we needed to legalize the Federation.
In the process of legalizing the Federation, Mr. Ioia again tried to sabotage my plan. He wrote letters to the Guinea Bissau Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Justice, and FINA stating that even though he retired and installed me as Interim President and the Executive Board approved the decision, he was somehow still the President of the Federation! Never in history does a President resign and simultaneously remain President except for Mr. Ioia. Further, the Federation Fiscal Council President Mario Ceesay and Vice President Sufri Balanta, also attempted to block the legalization of the Federation because they, who have no experience with swimming or FINA rules, they who have been operating without any accountability, they did not agree with some parts of the Federation’s Constitution which they had already approved. So they created all kinds of delays which caused the Federation to miss some important deadlines set by FINA that would allow the Federation access to resources this year. This is because they objected to establishing the Federation my way based on my substantial experience and instead preferred to do it their way as if they had any qualification for doing so. Their excuse was, “that is not how we do it in Guinea Bissau '' and my response was always “that is also why Guinea Bissau is broken. It’s time to do it a new way and I will show you how.” Since then both Mr. Ioia and Mr. Ceesay have been presenting themselves as the Federation President and Fiscal Council President even though they are not registered with the Ministry of Justice and are contrary to their own previous decisions. This has caused a lot of confusion with FINA and has damaged the integrity of Guinea Bissau and threatened the ability of the Federation to receive international support.
So, I felt betrayed. Betrayed by my government. Betrayed by the Ministry of Sport. Betrayed by the Guinea Bissau Olympic Committee. Betrayed by the Swimming Federation and even some of my closest friends who were involved and were only looking for opportunities for themselves.
But today, all of this has ended. There is only one Federação de Natação da Guiné-Bissau recognized by the Republic of Guinea Bissau and I am its Interim President until the General Assembly is held on April 30 and elects the Executive Committee officers. I would like to thank everyone who helped in the process of legalizing the Federation, especially its founding institutions - Estrela Negra de Bissau (FARP), Instituo Politecnico Nova Esperanca (IP9), and Escola Francesa Rene Descartes. Thank you Jorge Antonio Quade Sani, Malam Cisse and Charlotte M. P. Chevailier.
I would also like to thank Nhanna Apami Intchami of the Associacao Acadeimica da UNIPIAGET and Aquia Honorio Djata, Director of the Pool at the Hala Hotel & Aqua Park.
Finally, my warmest and most heartfelt thanks go to Claudio Hortiz Altip who sacrificed so much to help me through this process, and most of all, Daiana Taborda Gomes, without whom this moment would not be possible.
Now let me finally talk about the future. I have already inspected several swimming pools in Bissau and Bolama. I have also been to Quinhamel, Cacheu, Bubaque, and Untche, all areas with water and natural swimming talent. My goal is to tour the rest of Guinea Bissau where there is water and people can swim, to find the best swimming talent in the country. I will then make selections for my Elite Team that I will attempt to train full time in order to prepare someone for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The Elite Team will be open to anyone between the ages of 6 and 24 who can swim a lap of the pool. The first Elite Team Selection Camp will be held in Bissau on three consecutive Saturdays - May 7, May 14 and May 21. Anyone who thinks they can be a swimming champion or who has a child who can be a swimming champion should complete an application that is available on the Federation Facebook page or by contacting the Federation.
Following the Elite Team Selection Camp, I will travel to Dakar, Senegal to compete in the CANA Zone 2 Championships for West Africa. I will try to win a medal for Guinea Bissau for the first time. Then finally, I will travel to Budapest, Hungary from June 17 to 27 to compete in the FINA World Championships. I am not fast enough to win a medal at that competition, but the purpose is to go and establish a swimming legacy at the highest level for Guinea Bissau and to become a role model and inspire the next generation of swimmers who will be a part of the Elite Team. This is also necessary for me to attract the world attention needed to get the resources for the Federation.
Everywhere else in the world, swimming federations receive their revenue from paid memberships and competition fees. For example, the United States Swimming Federation has over 200,000 members and an operating budget of $33 million. Since there are no teams or swimming programs in Guinea Bissau, and not enough interest, the Federation can not rely on such support to fund its activities. So where will the Federation get the money to pay all the expenses of the Elite Team and all the other learn to swim programs it intends to do throughout the country? How will we pay the people who sacrifice their time and energy to help me in this endeavor?
The answer is that, for now, I will have to leverage my international fame in the swimming world to get support from abroad, especially from the United States. To do this, I need lots of publicity. If I can show the world how much we are doing with the little that we have, and that both the people and the media are excited about this new opportunity, then people will support the Federation just like they supported the Jamaican bobsled team.
The Elite Team will need to train in a 25 meter pool with lane ropes and other equipment. They will train every weekday morning and evening. To do this, we are going to need a facility that can house them and feed them while they train. Our current options include the Hala Hotel and Dunia Hotel since they have pools that are already usable. Other options include the pool at Estrela Negra de Bissau (FARP) and the pool in Bolama, but both of those pools need a substantial amount of money to rehabilitate them and make them operational. So I will be launching a $1 million fundraising campaign to achieve all of this!
Meanwhile, I will be teaching swimming lessons in Bissau. I have already started with nearly 50 students at the Escola Francesa Rene Descartes. Very soon the Federation will announce the times and locations for the regular swimming lessons in Bissau that are open to adults and children. The Federation will also travel wherever there is water to conduct swim clinics.
In November, we will host our 2nd Annual Cacheu Swim which I completed last year in 26 minutes!
The Swimming Federation has ambitious plans for now and the immediate future. We will need more than just money. We will need volunteers. We will need people of good will who want to give opportunities to young people. So we will need people to join the Federation as volunteers.
59 years ago Amilcar Cabral used sport to organize the people and lead them to political independence. Sport can also be used to lead the people to health and wealth. This is the grand vision of the Federação de Natação da Guiné-Bissau and we are calling it the New Opportunities Campaign.
Finally, Amilcar Cabral said that “We consider that when imperialism arrived in Guinea it made us leave history - our history. . . . the moment imperialism arrived and colonialism arrived, it made us leave our history and enter another history.”
The moment the people of Guinea Bissau left their own history and appeared in Portuguese history is recorded in the book, The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea written by Gomes Eannes de Azurara, the official royal chronicler of King Don Affonso the Fifth of Portugal. Here is the moment when we left our own history and entered the history of the invaders:
“From thence they went forward until they passed Cape Verde, beyond which they decried an island (Goree). . . . Thence they went forward to the spot where the palm tree is . . . . And when they were near to the Cape as it might be a third of a league, they cast anchor and rested as they had arranged; but they had not been there long when from the land there set out two boats, manned by ten Guineas, who straightaway began to make their way direct to the ship . . . . And when Alvaro Fernandez, perceived that they dared not come to him, he commanded his boat to be lowered and in it he ordered eight men to plane themselves, from among the readiest that he found for the duty; and he arranged that the boat should be on the further side of the caravel so that it might not be seen by the enemy, in the hope that they would approach nearer to the ship. And the Guineas stayed some way off until one of their boats took courage to move more forward and issued forth from the others towards the caravel, and in it were five brave and stout Guineas, distinguished in this respect among the others of the company. And as soon as Alvaro Fernandez perceived that this boat was already in position for him to be able to reach it before it could receive help from the others, he ordered his own to issue forth quickly and go against it. And by the great advantage of our men in their manner of rowing they were soon upon the enemy, who seeing themselves thus overtaken, and having no hope of defense, leapt into the water while the other boats fled towards the land. But our men had very great toil in the capture of those who were swimming, for they dived like cormorants, so that they could not get a hold of them;”
Why did I read this? To remind the people that Guinea Bissau was once a place with the best swimmers on earth. Our ancestors swam so good that it saved the lives of some of them that first encountered the Portuguese invaders. It is these ancestors that brought me here to Guinea Bissau and are helping me. When I swam accross the Cacheu River to lead all those ancestors that jumped off the slave ship and drowned in the Cacheu River, I connected with their spirits and led them back to shore. Now they are helping me, too. Whoever we find and train to represent us at the Olympics in Paris in 2024, he or she will be the pride of us all and Guinea Bissau will, as in the days of the liberation struggle, again become a symbol to the world of the possibility of the human spirit and the unity of a nation.
Now I will answer questions.
Siphiwe Baleka, Interim President
secretaria.fedenatgb@gmail.com