Allen, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, claimed the most sustainable way of getting women into sporting structures is for them to be elected into National Federations.

She added that the IOC quota system has been very effective in getting women into sports, and since then, has seen them being co-opted into executive positions.

The two-day African Women in Sports forum was organised by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), whose Women and Sport (WAS) Commission is chaired by Allen.

The 65-year-old claimed one of the missions of the IOC is to encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures,  with a view to implementing the principle of equality between men and women.

Currently, 24 of the 92 serving IOC members are women, which equates to less than 30 per cent.

Under the leadership of its President Lassana Palenfo, ANOCA has attempted to promote women in sports by launching multiple women’s leadership training programmes and supporting the various WAS Commission meetings over the years.

It has also developed and adopted a blueprint for women and sport development in Africa, which highlights limited opportunities and marginalisation as one of the main challenges for African women.  

Allen concluded by encouraging the ANOCA leadership to continue to intensify its efforts in resource mobilisation, empowerment programmes, and the financing of sensitisation and advocacy programmes for women and sports development in Africa.