Ivorian Tapé to lead AFCOMMA, with Congolese Masuama as secretary general
Founded in Abidjan on 13 October, the African confederation of GAMMA gives its presidency to Ivorian Tapé Jackson Parfait and its secretary generalship to Congolese Rodrigue Masuama Ndangi.
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Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo hold two key posts in the new African leadership of GAMMA, the international amateur MMA organisation. Tapé Jackson Parfait takes the presidency, while Rodrigue Masuama Ndangi becomes secretary general. The African Confederation of Mixed Martial Arts, referred to by GAMMA as AFCOMMA, was founded on 13 October in Abidjan, during the organisation’s African championships.
An Ivorian president, a Congolese secretary general
Tapé Jackson Parfait also heads the Ivorian MMA federation. His new role gives him continent-wide responsibility within the GAMMA network. Ghana’s Jeffery Taylor is vice-president. Algeria’s Said Faci and Rwanda’s Dieudonné Mwizerwa are also on the announced executive committee.
The secretary general’s post goes to Rodrigue Masuama Ndangi, president of the Congolese Free Fight Federation. The presence of these two officials gives West and Central Africa a place in the running of the confederation. This is the leadership of GAMMA’s amateur MMA body, not of a professional fighting organisation.
Competitions and training on the agenda
Developing competitions and training coaches are among the stated priorities. The committee wants to strengthen cooperation between national federations, widen opportunities for young people to take part, and improve the training and certification of coaches, referees and officials.
Tapé Jackson Parfait has also put the regularity of the African championship, the Open Africa MMA, and the organisation of refereeing among his priorities. These are broad priorities for the mandate. Their announcement is not yet a detailed competition calendar, nor a track record of results.
For the federations, clubs and athletes concerned, the next concrete information will therefore be the dates, venues and entry arrangements for the events to come. For now, the make-up of the leadership is settled; how it delivers on its programme remains to be seen.