ARUA, MAY 14 – The Embassy of Italy in Uganda and the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda (Ministry of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees) are organizing a 3- day football training/tournament in Arua, with coaches from the Italian first league (Serie A) team Sampdoria, open to youth coming from both refugee settlements and local communities.
The event is organized in collaboration with the Italian NGO ACAV, the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Sampdoria, the TO.org, the Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) and the Office of the United Nation’s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The initiative will take place from 17 to 19 May 2019 at Mvara Secondary School and will bring together over 100 youths, between the age of 13 and 16, from Bidi Bidi, Lobule, Imvepi and Rhino refugee settlements, as well as from the respective districts (Yumbe, Koboko and Arua).
Activities will include: trainings on the 17 and 18 of May, and a tournament on the final day, coordinated by professional Italian coaches from Sampdoria, plus sport management courses, coordinated by UOC and FUFA. The event’s closing ceremony on the 19 of May will be graced by the presence of the Minister of Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Hon. Hilary Onek.
The project uses the power of sport to enhance social cohesion, rehabilitation and restoration to normality benefitting young refugees residing in the settlements and host communities in the West Nile Region.
On the occasion of the event, a 3-year sports education program will be launched to favor youth refugees and their host communities. This longer term project aims at educating the youth on Olympic values, creating training programs, as well as coaching and sports management courses. The organizing committee also plans to provide infrastructures which will serve both refugees and the receiving communities in a spirit of integration. (@OnuItalia)
