Ahead of the forthcoming African Nations Cup UK tournament, Team South Africa is ready for the BIG Kick Off after winning The Rollers & Empire May Day Trophy hosted by Rollers Club. Organised by Marshall Gore and Team Zimbabwe, it aimed at selecting the best to represent different countries for African Nations Cup UK 2013. They are in Group A with African giants Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania and Zanzibar Island.
Discover our new Partners FHPU - Monday, March 18, 2013
Discover our new partners FHPU (Football for Hope, Peace and Unity). Working together to promote and develop the values of peace, hope and unity through football and sports. Says Mr. Eric E. Murangwa, a former Rwandan footballer who founded Football for Hope, Peace & Unity in 2010.
African Nations Cup UK is a not for profit community organisation and we are proud to be the main organisers of this glorious event that brings many communities from different backgrounds together.
Our Vision is to empower various communities to unite for good causes through sports.
Our strategy is hosting African Nations tournament each year and promote sports in this context forever. This is a long term programme that will develop grass root football into more potential football.
Supported and backed by Terrence Higgins Trust and Essex County Football Association, the tournament, African Nations Cup UK, takes place every year and has been in place since 2009 as a minority community tournament in the UK.
Because of the high failure rate of players’ transition from youth football to professional football in UK African communities, the competition also aims at developing the game in existing community, using sports as a symbol to promote togetherness, wellbeing, scale-up young people's talents and to reduce vulnerability as a result of idleness especially in young people.
The current format of the tournament involved 16 teams: Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Gambia, Mauritius, Morocco, Algeria, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Cameroon, DR Congo, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Senegal.
This event attracts from football fans from all over the country, local health and advocacy bodies to scouts from professional sports bodies and clubs to spot potential footballers for greener pastures.
This project also being such a new concept of its kind, has shown signs of being potential enough to solve not only football in BME communities but also able to divert vulnerable youths from anti-social activities.
We have seen them rather spend time training and getting ready to support and represent their countries of origin.
The current tournament was hosted by London Borough of Newham with teams coming from all parts of UK.
AFRICAN UNION | UNION AFRICAINE | |
UNIÃO AFRICANA |
Directorate of Information and Communication
Africa Day 2013: Grand Debate on Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance
Addis Ababa, 19 May 2013 – A press briefing was held today to brief the media on the level of preparedness ahead of the celebrations of the Golden Jubilee of the Organisation of African Unity and the African Union (OAU-AU). The briefing was also aimed at briefing the media on the side and parallel events taking place within the framework of the Jubilee and at informing the public on the steps to be taken to draw up the vision for Africa for the next 50 years. The panel included Dr Nkosazana Dlamnini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Mr Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson and Ambassador Konjit SineGiorgis, Ethiopia’s permanent representative to the AU.
During the press briefing Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma explained “that the most important thing is that the AU has decided to involve and engage its citizens in order to reflect on where we have come from and where we are heading to”. She added that the celebrations are about galvanizing and energizing the populations not only at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa but throughout the continent where people will be discussing and shaping the future of Africa. The result of the discussions and debates will then inform Agenda 2063.
In his capacity as the Chairperson of the Organising Committee for the Golden Jubilee, Mr Erastus Mwencha said that the celebrations which kicked off with events such as the Women’s Consultative Conference, the Symposium on “Being Pan-African” and the 26th Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives’ Committee (PRC) are an opportunity to reflect on the journey travelled thus far and to map out the future. He added that the Youth Forum planned for May 24th, also constitutes an opportunity for intergenerational exchange where young people will interact with current leaders and some of those who founded the OAU like former Presidents Kenneth Kaunda and Sam Nujoma. The celebrations will culminate on 25th May, Africa Day, in a Grand Debate on Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa. There will also be festivities at the Millennium Hall, which will be open to the public. All the celebrations are meant to be owned by the people of Africa and those in the Diaspora.
Addressing a question on the achievements and the failures of the OAU, Ambassador SineGiorgis, who also serviced the historic First Conference of African Independent States in May 1963 when the OAU was formed, highlighted that the OAU “discharged its mandate to liberate Africa from the shackles of colonialism, imperialism and apartheid. Hence we cannot talk about failures. The OAU-AU is still work in progress”. Following to Ambassador SineGiorgis, Dr Dlamini Zuma added that today’s challenges relate to development and economic growth, and that encouragingly, Africa has been on the rise for the last 10 years, with six of the fastest growing economies being on the continent. As key achievements, she highlighted that the OAU-AU set some standards and norms including the Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance and the AU Convention on the Assistance and Protection of Internally Displaced Persons to name just a few.
