RWANDA’S President Paul Kagame and King Mohammed IV of Morocco received the Outstanding Achievement award from the Confederation of African Football – CAF.
The awards presented by CAF President Patrice Motsepe to both leaders in Kigali on Tuesday evening, were in recognition of their contributions in advancing African football.
The event is one among many that have gathered world football leaders in Kigali for the ongoing FIFA Congress this week.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, applauded both leaders for their outstanding roles in advancing football in Africa.
“We are here to celebrate outstanding leaders and their work for football. Young children playing football need leaders who are strong to inspire and invest in football like President Kagame and King Mohammed IV who have transformed football in different ways in Africa,” Infantino said.
For the past few years, Rwanda has invested in sports infrastructure as it positions itself as Africa’s sports hub, hosting major competitions. The country seeks to raise $800 million in sports tourism by next year.
Rwanda also invested Rwf160 million ($145,000) in 2021 to upgrade Amahoro stadium, increasing its seating capacity from 25,000 to 45,000. The revamping is set to be completed next year.
President Kagame reflected on the role football played in reuniting Rwandans after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
“Even after the tragedy, some of these young Rwandans wanted to play football. When we took over, among the many things we wanted to invest in was football and we enabled our young people to play it,” Kagame said.
