WOMEN in sport will have an opportunity to share ideas and plan for the future when they converge in Harare for the ANOCA-IOC Senior Women Sports Forum scheduled for today and tomorrow at Crowne Plaza.

The forum is being organised by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the International Olympic Committee.

Zimbabwe will play host to 34 English and French speaking delegates drawn from Gambia, Zambia, Ethiopia, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Tanzania, Mauritius, Lesotho, Namibia, Djibouti, Togo, Ghana, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and ANOCA. The President of Anoca General, Lassana Palenfo, a high-profile former president of Cote d'Ivoire Olympic Committee is expected as one of the special guests at the forum.

The forum brings together the top women leadership of sport on the continent - Anoca Women and Sport Commission, women of the Anoca executive and presidents, vice presidents and secretaries general of African National Olympic Committees (NOCs).

ZOC chief executive, Anna Mguni, said in a press release that the forum was in preparation of the World Conference on Women and Sport scheduled for Los Angeles, California next month.

"The Senior Women Sports Administrators forum brings together the top women leadership of sport on the continent.

"The main objective of Anoca-IOC senior women sports administrators is to discuss as a basis, the Commission's plans as tabled at the Angola forum, the IOC - commissioned Loughborough Report and the Los Angeles conference.

"The group of African women will also formulate strategies on how they expect to maintain leadership positions as well as plans to grow the numbers in and during next elections," said Mguni.

Mguni said besides focusing on sporting issues the forum presents the country with an opportunity to promote tourism.

"Apart from dealing with the primary business of the forum, it is an opportunity for ZOC to sell the country as a safe tourist destination as well as afford participants drawn from African countries an opportunity to appreciate the warm Zimbabwean hospitality.

"This is, however, not the first time that ZOC has been asked to host a high profile event, having successfully hosted a regional forum in preparation for the London Olympic Games in Victoria Falls in 2011," said Mguni.