Swimming In Guinea Bissau: Hope For The Nation

Siphiwe Ka Baleka is organizing this fundraiser.

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*****UPDATE******

LAWYERING UP FOR FIGHT AGAINST THE SPORTS MAFIA IN GUINEA BISSAU. DONATIONS NEEDED FOR LEGAL EFFORT!!!!

May 27, Bissau - President of the Guinea Bissau Swimming Federation (FNGB), Siphiwe Baleka, received evidence today that Sergio Mane, President of the Guinea Bissau National Olympic Committee and Mr. Duarte Ioia, received an illegal payment from World Aquatics in the amount of $17,500 that should have been paid to the legally-registered Guinea Bissau Swimming Federation whose President is Siphiwe Baleka. This money is intended to help the Swimming Federation develop its training programs for the young people in Guinea Bissau!

The crimes of fraud, theft, discrimination and perjury are now being exposed to the whole country. For all the information go to

WORLD AQUATICS AND THE GUINEA BISSAU NATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: FRAUD, THEFT, DISCRIMINATION & CORRUPTION - ILLEGAL PAYMENTS!!!! - https://www.balanta.org/news/guinea-bissau-swimming-federation-athlete-reports-web-of-corruption-discrimination-and-fraud-in-the-federation-and-olympic-committee

and

Will Siphiwe Baleka and the Guinea Bissau Swimming Federation be Blocked from the Olympics Again? - https://www.balanta.org/news/an-open-letter-to-the-world-especially-to-the-international-olympic-committee-and-particularly-world-aquatics-and-the-international-swimming-community

We have already hired a lawyer to file an injuction against the criminals to block them from receiving any money from World Aquatics.

Please show your support by donating what you can so that we can continue the SWIMMING IN GUINEA BISSAU: HOPE FOR THE NATION fundraising campaign.

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This campaign is going to do something amazing. We are going to use the Olympic spirit to bring inspiration and resources to a country that desperately needs both!

WE ARE GOING TO USE THE SPORT OF SWIMMING TO TRANSFORM GUINEA BISSAU

How?

Remember back in 1980 when the US Olympic hockey team shocked the world and defeated the “unbeatable” Russian hockey team?

All of America watched and felt the pride of their nation as a bunch of dreamers did the impossible!

In the 1988 Winter Olympics, who could forget how the Jamaican bobsled team captured the attention and hearts of the entire world?

That same year, in the 1988 summer Olympics, the small nation of Surinam felt the pride of their nation as Anthony Nesty won the first Olympic medal - a gold medal - by defeating the “unbeatable” Matt Biondi. Nesty became the

FIRST BLACK SWIMMER TO WIN AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL.

The economic and social effect of Anthony Nesty’s performance is still felt in Surinam today and Anthony Nesty is now an Olympic Swimming coach in the United States!

Even the worst swimming performance in the history of the Olympics captured the support of the world and helped change a nation.

Listen to Eric Moussambani describe his experience.

And of course, there is the moment in 2014 when Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson became the first black female swimmer to win a World Championship.

In many ways, Alia Atkinson was a product of the Jamaican bobsled team. So is are Jasmine Fenlator and Carrie Russell, who continued the legacy as Jamaica’s female bobsled team in 2018.

WHAT IS THE POINT?

The point is that sports and in particular, Olympic moments and especially Olympic swimming, has the power to transform national spirit and development. Consider that in 1993, the movie Cool Runnings debuted. The movie is based on the true story of the Jamaican bobsled team that competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and were received as underdogs in a cold weather sport represented by a nation with a tropical environment. The idea came from George Fitch, a former U.S. diplomat and his tennis buddy and Seattle businessman William Maloney and the team was put together with the help of Kenny Barnes, a former Jamaican military officer. Their coach was Howard Siler, an Olympic bobsledder for the United States in 1972 and 1980. Their "underdog" status as an unlikely competitor in a cold weather sport represented by a nation with a tropical environment quickly gained them popularity at the Games. They had little experience in the sport and had to appeal to other teams for basic equipment in order to compete; sporting camaraderie across national boundaries followed. A Washington Post articled states,

“Per International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation requirements, the team had to participate in a World Cup event to qualify for the Olympics. Five weeks before the Games, the Jamaicans competed in a two-man World Cup race in Innsbruck, Austria, finishing better than four teams.

Ten days before the Games, the International Olympic Committee blocked Jamaica’s entry, claiming the team was not ready for competition. Fitch made several calls, including one to Prince Albert II of Monaco, vice president of the IOC, and less than a week later, the committee reversed its decision.”

In the third out of four runs, they lost control of the sleigh, crashed, and did not officially finish. Dudley Stokes and Michael White entered the two-man bobsleigh event, finishing 30th out of 41 teams. When Jamaica qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, it lacked funding, but within two days the cryptocurrency Dogecoin community raised on the team's behalf $30,000 of the approximately $40,000. An online campaign was set up, seeking to raise an additional $80,000 through the crowdfunding platform Tilt. The campaign closed on 22 January 2014, and surpassed the target goal having collected $129,687.

Following the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team, the number of Jamaican athletes at the Summer Olympics increased from 36 in 1992 to a high of 56 in 2016 (56% increase) and 48 in the most recent Tokyo games. Their Olympic medals increased from 4 to a high of 12 in 2012, 11 in 2016 and 9 in 2020. In total, Jamaica has won 87 medals in just two sports - track and field and cycling.

JAMAICA AT THE OLYMPICS

According to a Fox News report, “The Jamaican bobsled team still rides the Disney wave after the 1993 movie ‘Cool Runnings,’ helped propel the country’s program from nothing to a global phenomenon after a surprise qualification for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The movie secured the program corporate sponsorships and infused the cash-strapped organization with much-needed resources, and it was a hit at the box office. At the time, Disney said it was its highest-grossing live-action film, making more than $157 million."

In contrast to Jamaica and its Olympic bobsled team, if ever a country needed to propel it’s athletic program from nothing to a global phenomenon after a surprise qualification for the Olympics, it is Guinea Bissau. Since its debut in 1996, Guinea Bissau has had just 25 athletes compete and have won no medals. In 2016, Guinea Bissau had 5 athletes, its highest number in its 7 Olympics history. There is little sports infrastructure with the exception of futbol. There is no Olympic size swimming pool in the entire country, no teams, no swim programs, nothing.

GUINEA BISSAU AT THE OLYMPICS

The World Bank starts its country profile for Guinea Bissau by stating, "Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest and most fragile countries, has a population of about 1.8 million". With a Gross National Income of US$570, Guinea-Bissau is the 12th poorest country in the world. Over two-thirds of the population survived on less than US$1.9 per day. Guinea Bissau ranks 177th of 187 countries on the United Nations (UN) Human Development Index.

In the past 16 years, Guinea-Bissau has experienced two coups, a civil war, an attempted coup, and a presidential assassination by the military. Since the country's independence in 1974, only one president successfully completed his five-year term. During the COVID pandemic, as much as 60% of the rural population faced serious food shortages. And just recently, on February 1, there was another attack on the President, the Prime Minister and several government ministers at the Palácio de Governo.

Take a look at the current status of Guinea Bissau . If ever a country needed a Cool Runnings/Disney movie global sports phenomenon to bring unity and prosperity, it's Guinea Bissau. And it nearly had it.

GUINEA BISSAU AND SIPHIWE BALEKA’S TOKYO OLYMPIC DREAM

When the Guinea Bissau Olympic Committee and The Guinea Bissau Swimming Federation first announced their support to place Siphiwe Baleka on the Guinea Bissau Olympic Team for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, the global phenomenon started. Siphiwe Baleka made the cover of Sports Illustrated and was featured in an eight page article. Shortly after that, Siphiwe Baleka appeared on NBC’s Access Daily. Destined to become the oldest swimmer in Olympic history, Siphiwe Baleka signed a sponsorship deal with the Association of American Retired People (AARP). Negotiations for a major Hollywood movie were nearly finalized. Guinea Bissau was well on its way to having its own Jamaican-bobsled-movie-global phenomenon.

And then, just before the Olympics, like the Jamaican bobsled team, Siphiwe Baleka was blocked from competing by the Fédération Internationale De Natation (FINA), the global governing body of the sport. Unlike the Jamaican bobsled team, Siphiwe Baleka had no one to pull strings for him at FINA or the International Olympic Committee, and while his case was being decided at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Siphiwe Baleka was held in detention in the Narita Airport in Tokyo awaiting a decision.

With the establishment of the Federação de Natação da Guiné-Bissau (FNGB) as a legal institution on April 12 , 2022, and Siphiwe Baleka as its first President , the story takes a turn for the better. The goal now is to get Siphiwe Baleka to compete in the Confederation Africaine de Natation (C.A.N.A) Zone 2 Championships in Dakar, Senegal May 27-29 and then in the FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, June 18-26, thereby establishing a swimming legacy at the highest level for Guinea Bissau. At the same time, it would make him the oldest swimmer in the history of the World Championships as well as distinguish him as the first African American athlete to return to his ancestral homeland and take the helm of a sport’s national governing body.

This story of Siphiwe’s redemption after his Olympic fiasco can bring about the resumption of the negotiations for the Hollywood movie and all the benefits that will come with it. The FNGB can capitalize on this moment and use international media attention to attract support and resources to fund the FNGB’s New Opportunities 2022-2024 Campaign.

WHY WE NEED YOUR MONEY: THE PLAN

According to the newly elected President of the Guinea Bissau Swimming Federation President Siphiwe Baleka:

“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. We will then host the country’s first-ever “Dash For Cash” competition and 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. The first Elite Team Selection Camp will be held in Bissau on Saturdays in May and June - Anyone who thinks they can be a swimming champion or who has a child who can be a swimming champion can complete an application that is available on the Federation Facebook page or by contacting the Federation.

From May 26-29, 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), the pool at the PAIGC Headquarters and the pool in Bolama, but those pools need a substantial amount of money to rehabilitate them and make them operational. 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.

Fifty-nine years ago Amilcar Cabral used sport to organize the people in Guinea Bissau 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.”