Basketball remains a popular sport in Morocco Casablanca – Abdullah Al Alawi The Moroccan Royal Basketball Federation [FRMBB] is under pressure from the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Moroccan National Olympic Committee [CNOM] to cancel its electoral general assembly starting on Sunday in Rabat, and withdraw the list of candidates for the board led by Mohammed Fouad Amar.
A source told Arabstoday that Mohammed Dinia, the director of the FRMBB, received a telephone call on Monday evening from an "influential" CNOM official urging him to have Amar withdraw his list to stop the general assembly from being held; hand in his resignation and allow a provisional committee to be formed to run the Federation. The Ministry of Youth and Sports has failed to form such a committee due to the lack of legal support, and the source said the interference in the FRMBB's internal affairs greatly angered the clubs which accept the federation's legitimacy. The clubs have sent out a message calling for a protest vigil outside the ministry and the CNOM has decided to send another message to King Mohamed VI to inform him of the pressures that the FRMBB is subjected to, the source said.
The source added that the FRMBB has decided to take the ministry to the Administrative Court after finding out that the ministry tried to undermine the Federation's finances and push its members to give in to the reality of the situation after failing to fulfill their financial commitments. He added that as the ministry has so far failed to stop the general assembly being held, clubs have demanded that it does not attend the meeting set for Sunday. The FRMBB will not give in on holding the assembly, the source said, because the current board is required to clear its name after taking all necessary measures to hold the meeting, including publishing the organisation's financial activity reports on its official website and notifying clubs and local authorities.
According to the same source, the FRMBB is willing to hold a "debate" to discuss the foundational law adopted at the Federation's most recent exceptional general assembly, which was attended by representatives of the ministry and the CNOM. The source said the Federation would use the debate as a platform from which to respond to accusations levied by some officials in the ministry run by Minister Mohammed Ouzzine that the FRMBB set a law that is "tailored" to fit some of its members. He also said the Federation was willing to reveal many legal loopholes in the foundational law template which the ministry handed it and the "huge difference" between the two in responding to the provisions of law no 30/09 on physical education and sports.
The FRMMB was baffled on Tuesday when it received a message from the ministry demanding that the Federation dispatches copies of its financial activity reports as well as a list of candidates. The Federation had written to the ministry 15 days ahead of the general assembly asking it to appoint a representative to the meeting and the ministry is yet to respond. The Federation is also not obliged to send its reports to the ministry as there is no legal provision or decree in line with the former physical-education law which indicate it must. The older physical-education law is set to be used to govern the first half of the general assembly, with the new law taking over for the election of the new board, which will be responsible for applying the law's provisions.