Successful innovations at the 6th edition of the African Football Night in Lomé

African Football Night

As a conclusion to 6th edition of The African Football Night, Foot Media Events and the Organizing Committee released the key facts and figures of the event held on 27 July in Lomé under the patronage of His Excellency Mr. Faure GNASSINGBE, President of the Togolese Republic.

With 6 awards given to African football legends including Daniel Amokachi, Shabani Nonda, TP Mazembe, Thierno Seydi, Mohamed Aboutrika and Emmanuel Adebayor, 614 participants to the Gala Dinner, a record attendance of 30,000 enthusiastic supporters at the newly inaugurated stadium of Kégué, 15 media partnerships, a panel and a business networking event dedicated to the African sports industry, the 6th edition of The African Football Night is definitely a success.

“The Togolese Republic was very proud to welcome this federating event in its capital, in line with Togo’s wish to host major Pan-African events,” said Folly Bazi Katari, Minister for Communication, Sports and Education to Citizenship of the Togolese Republic.

“This event also gave us a great opportunity to present Togo’s efforts to promote sports activities, notably through the construction of new infrastructures and through the development of high-level training activities. Togo is committed to its athletes and federations and is keen to promote the sports industry as a whole,” he added.

African Football Night

A member of the organizing committee and director of Impulse Africa, Anne-Elvire Esmel spoke about the innovations of the 6th edition, whose theme was Sport and Development: “First, a business networking event allowed for presenting some key projects of interest to the sports community, including the AfricArena and DiaspoLab funds designed to support initiatives with a strong social and economic impact in Africa, and the MercyShips hospital ship project,” she explained, adding:

“We then organized a high-level panel with Joseph-Antoine Bell, Jimmy Adjovi-Boco, Founder of the Diambars Institute, and Samba Bathily, President of the ADS Group, on economic development opportunities in the sector, particularly in terms of training and enhancing sports infrastructure”. These two concepts have been successfully tested and may be repeated again in the future.

“For the organization of this 6th edition, we have received incredible support from the Togolese authorities, to whom we are very grateful. The coordination process was very efficient and enabled us to reach a result that was beyond our ambitions. I also want to thank all the teams mobilized in Lome, Abidjan, Ouagadougou, Dakar, and Paris for their dedication, enthusiasm, and professionalism.

The African Football Night demonstrates that we now have the African skills and competences to deliver high-quality events on this continent, “said Yves Sawadogo, President of Foot Media Events and promoter of the project.

“We want to remain a key milestone in the African sports calendar while becoming a reference platform bringing together sports communities closer to the private sector and public decision-makers, in order to allow for concrete projects in favor of sports in Africa to emerge” he added, explaining his long-term vision.

A documentary film focussing on key highlights of July 27 will soon be available. The teams have already started to prepare for the next edition, following the same approach consisting in involving sports communities, public institutions, and private sector actors and encouraging them to act positively in favor of the development of sports value chains in Africa.

 

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

Logistics of the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations

With Africa’s premier soccer tournament now underway in Egypt, the continent’s top teams are fighting it out for a position in the finals and the ultimate honour of winning the Total Africa Cup of Nations 2019. Along with the teams comes a massive influx of fans and spectators, joining local people going about their daily business and putting a big strain on transport nodes. That’s being alleviated in Egypt, and Cairo especially, with transport solutions from Thales.

The 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations is the 32nd edition of the tournament which takes place every two years. Organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), it takes place from 21 June to 19 July 2019 and features 24 teams from across Africa.

With more than 50,000 tourists expected to join regular traffic in the cities across Egypt where matches are taking place, Cairo Metro network is playing a crucial role in keeping the tournament moving. Football fans from all over the African continent are using Cairo Metro Line 3 to reach the Stadium station to watch their national teams compete. Thales has supplied the Revenue Collection System (RCS) and Integrated Communications and Security (ICS) solution for this line, contracted back in 2007.

Africa Cup of Nations
 

In fact, three additional stations were put in service, ahead of the first match, specifically to aid increased demand from fans and citizens alike. And while looking after fans is an obvious priority for the duration of the football tournament, citizens deserve the most convenient, easy-to-use and practical solutions to keep everyone moving freely.

That’s where Thales technology shines. With a longstanding record of providing fully integrated solutions for the city’s Metro owner, National Authority for Tunnels (NAT), the company first engaged with NAT when it first introduced Line 1 in 1981. From that day forward, Thales has become the partner of choice for the supply of both Revenue Collection Systems (RCS) and Integrated Communications and Security systems (ICS) for all Cairo Metro Lines.

The expertise which has helped support an improved standard of urban services for the Egyptian people is, in effect, being leveraged so that all football fans and citizens are able to buy tickets and get to their destinations safely and smoothly without encumbrance.

Back in 2016, Thales was awarded for the supply of 850 gates for Cairo Metro Line 1 and Line 2, which is another sentiment for the company’s commitment in supporting its Egyptian customer.

With a doubling of the number of passengers carried on the line expected, safety is as always paramount. But at the same time, solutions which drive efficiency are essential so everyone can get their ticket and take their seat on time.

It’s an exciting time in Egypt right now, and not only because of the sizzling soccer. Development of new metro lines is being powered by some of the world’s foremost technology and expertise. And that means a great experience for football fans—and lasting value for citizens long after the Cup is hosted by one of Africa’s best football team.

 

 

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/