Fifa praises Rwanda football development

Fifa gives Rwanda thumbs up

JOHANNESBURG, May 19 (ANA) – Federation of International Football Associations (Fifa) president Gianni Infantino has praised the efforts of Rwanda to grow the sport in the East African Nation.

Infantino along with Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe were in Kigali, Rwanda, last week to hold an executive committee meeting for the African footballing body.

Infantino and Motsepe also met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Infantino said: “Football is more than just a sport, it is a school of life. Football teaches us to be part of a team. It teaches us that alone, we cannot achieve anything.

“Football is teaching us respect, for the rules, for our opponents, and for the referee, who has to apply the rules. Football teaches us to win and to lose. It is teaching us resilience, and to stand up to new challenges.

Infantino went on to say that Rwanda shows us that anything was possible “and this is what you, President Kagame, have been doing here.”

In response, Kagame said: “I do politics for a living, and I also make sure I get involved in good politics.

”If you look at sport, teams and clubs, it’s very similar to politics. It’s about leadership. You have to have a vision. Then, when it comes down to details, we have to work as a team. In the same exercise of our duties, we also need humility in what we do, so we can maximize the benefits of our work.”

Not to be left out, Motsepe echoed the sentiments of Infantino in saying: “In you, President Kagame, we don’t only have an ambassador, but a partner……A partner who talks on our behalf with all other heads of state in Africa. – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman