Kagame, King Mohammed VI of Morocco receive CAF Award
The governing body of African football Tuesday conferred the CAF President’s Outstanding Achievement Award 2022 to President Paul Kagame and King Mohammed VI of Morocco in recognition of their role in promoting African football.
The award was conferred by CAF president Patrice Motsepe along with FIFA President Gianni Infantino at a ceremony in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda.
Kagame was at hand to receive the award while King Mohammed VI was represented by his Minister of National Education and Sports Chakib Benmoussa at the ceremony.
“The award is in recognition of their commitment and support for the development and growth of football in their countries as well as the African continent,” said Motsepe during the ceremony.
“In order for African football to be globally competitive and self-sustaining, we need partnerships in every single country on the continent,” he said.
Noting that the future of African football looks bright based on some of the best players Africa has produced, Motsepe expressed hope that the award could inspire other heads of states to make the required partnerships to promote African football.
It is one of the side events of the 73rd FIFA congress due in Rwanda on Thursday, during which FIFA President Gianni Infantino is expected to seek re-election.
Football is joy, football is happiness, football is pride, Infantino said at the ceremony.
He noted that when you give children a ball they can do incredible things with it, including playing but they also need to have examples, they need people they can look at, and leaders who have shown in their countries, region and all over the world what can be done with leadership commitment.
Infantino said when the Moroccan national team made history at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after it emerged as the first team from an African country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup semi-finals it reflected constant investment needed in football.
Kagame in his acceptance speech stressed the importance of football in uniting people.
Reflecting on the country’s history, Kagame said amid war in 1994 and a history of ethnic divisions one of the things people clung to and kept bringing people together was sports, particularly football.
He said Rwanda has over the years made a deliberate effort to invest in football among other priorities although the level of the sport is yet to reach the desired level.
Some of the global football stars including international legends, African stars and football leaders were among the guests who attended the ceremony.
