The IOC has appointed Tomas Amos Ganda Sithole, President of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee and IOC Executive Board member, as its new Director of International Cooperation and Development, filling a position vacant since the departure of Fékrou Kidane in March 2002.

Tomas Sithole has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) since 1989 and ANOCA Secretary General since 1997. He has also been a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) since 1993, and is currently a member of the Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in 2004 in Athens.
"Thanks to his extensive knowledge of the Olympic Movement and of National Olympic Committees' activities all around the world, together with his involvement and dedication in promoting sport in developing countries, Tomas Sithole was the ideal candidate for this job", said the IOC President.
Mr Sithole will take up his new position in mid-February. Once fully on board, he will resign as an IOC member, NOC President and ANOCA Secretary General.
The Department of International Cooperation and Development strives, through its different projects, to use sport as a tool for social, economic and human development in disadvantaged communities and those in a crisis situation. It works towards the reinforcement of dialogue and international cooperation between those involved in sports management at both a national and world level, in particular the Olympic Movement, governments and international organisations. It is also responsible for the promotion of Olympism and its principles through Olympic education and culture worldwide.

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