Algeria, 2010

From 10th to 17th December 2010, the African Nations Cup of Boxing was held at the sports hall “Harcha Hacene” in Algiers, 3rd male edition and 1st female edition. The African countries that took part were: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritius, Seychelles, Gabon. A month before the outbreak of the spark of revolution that has changed the governments of some Arab countries from North Africa and the Middle East, this sporting event has enabled hundreds of young African athletes to meet and compete in 10 weight categories.
For many of these young men and women, boxing is not just a sport: from their stories you feel a strong will, a fire of rebellion against rigid social structures or against difficult life situations such as poverty and war. But boxing has allowed them to channel this energy into the combat: you fall in the ring and gets up, you pray and you bow to the referee, you hit the opponent and embrace him after the meeting. The great teaching of this sport is not in the annihilation of the opponent but in the knowledge that when you fall, you must find within yourself the strength to get up.