East Africa Cup

Event of the Year - building on the victory

2011-12-07T19:00:00.001+03:00

'It's not just about winning.'

That's one of the key messages of the East Africa Cup. It's an event mixes football with first aid classes; it's a training event for local coaches, community leaders and journalists.

It's a youth tournament which features sitting volleyball and young people with disabilities are actively involved. It's about cultural exchange and learning, not just winning matches, and for most of the young people involved it's their first trip abroad. Whilst the games can be hard fought, the biggest trophies don't go to the winning teams, but to the best all-round participants.

So when the EAC was nominted in 2010 for Peace and Sport's 'Sports Event of the Year' award, it was great to get the exposure, even if the EAC didn't take home the silverware.

When the EAC was both nominated and victorious this year, it was a great feeling.

(The Peace and Sport organisation was founded in 2007 by Modern Pentathlon Olympic medallist and world champion Joel Bouzou, to 'promote the practice of structured sport and sporting values to educate young generations and help foster social stability, reconciliation and dialogue between communities,' and the nomination got the EAC some useful international publicity).

I was there, having been asked to speak at a plenery session during the event on media and sport. Knowing how hard so many people work towards the event made the victory special - the award was for them, far too many to fit on the stage in Monaco. All over East Africa people were proud of their involvement, and journalists and others got in touch from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania.

Certainly a great day, but as with any winning team, it's what happens next that matters. How does the EAC moves forward?

The international recognition and exposure resulting from the award is most welcome, of course. But only if it can help towards ensuring a long term stable future for the event. In particular, there's a big funding challenge. At a time when the world economy is fragile, the EAC has a shortfall in funding to ensure it's future.
If you think you can help, get in touch.

EAC & Peace through Sport Takes First Place on the Podium

2011-10-28T01:42:00.000+03:00

News from Peace and Sport:

Gustavo Kuerten, IAAF, Club Med Foundation, UN agencies, the East Africa Cup and PeacePlayers International win

Peace and Sport Awards in Monaco

Monaco, 27 October 2011 - Peace through sport in action is epitomized by seven outstanding initiatives and people, who have been given awards tonight at the 4th Peace and Sport Awards Ceremony. The winners this year put the spotlight on actors from the sports world who have made peace and social cohesion a reality in 2011.

Tonight, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco and Joel Bouzou, President and Founder of “Peace and Sport L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport " have distinguished 7 terrific achievements that embody what sport can do to build bridges between divided communities and promote dialogue.

And for the first time, the organization has chosen to reward an athlete for displaying exceptional commitment.

Champion for Peace of the Year Award

- Gustavo Kuerten

Gustavo Kuerten, world tennis legend and three-time Roland Garros champion was recompensed for his work with the Guga Kuerten Institute (IGK), the non-profit organization he founded. 530 children and adolescents aged 7-15 years and about thirty people with disabilities participate each year in the Guga Kuerten Institute’s sports and educational program called "Champions of Life'.

Award for the best peace project from an International Sports Federation

- The IAAF

The IAAF has developed an educational program for 6-12 year old children offering athletics activities that are fun, attractive, and accessible to all without discrimination. The "Kids'Athletics" program, translated into six languages, uses adapted material, made from local materials, waste products, and natural resources available in the immediate environment.

Award for the Sports Event for Peace of the Year

- East Africa Cup

The East Africa Cup is a sporting event that brings together young people from 11 to 16 years from eight countries in East Africa and Southern Africa ( Zimbabwe , Zambia , Burundi , Rwanda , Uganda , Tanzania , Kenya and South Sudan ). Through the organization of football, volleyball and wheelchair volleyball tournaments, the East Africa Cup empowers young people in their home communities and educates the public on many topics such as HIV-AIDS and conflict resolution.

Prize for the best sports Non-Governmental Organization for peace of the year

- PeacePlayers International

PeacePlayers International (PPI) uses basketball to bring together and educate young people in divided communities. The methodology uses sport to teach young people to break out of cycles of conflict and isolation and to transmit this knowledge to their community. Since its launch in 2001, PPI has helped over 52,000 young people.

Prize for the best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of the year

- Club Med Foundation

The Club Med Foundation’s mission is to encourage company employees to carry out volunteer work and transfer their skills by taking part in solidarity actions across the world. The Foundation’ schools are based on a simple concept: giving children from severely disadvantaged areas access to sport through Club Med’s facilities and instructors.

Special Jury Prize

- Score the goals

‘Teaming Up to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals’ is a 32-page educational comic book featuring 10 football UN Goodwill Ambassadors. The book is primarily aimed at 8-14 year old children and provides a fun interactive way to help them understand, familiarize and reflect about the MDGs.

The Grand Prix for the Peace and Sport Image of the Year was awarded to Skateistan for a photograph taken in the streets of Kabul (Afghanistan) June 21, 2011, during International Go Skateboarding Day. The photo shows young skateboarders - boys and girls - in the Afghan capital celebrating the friendship and solidarity that exists among skateboarders from different countries, ethnic backgrounds, genders and religions. This award was first announced at SPORTELMonaco 2011.

Winners of the Peace and Sport Awards were chosen by a jury of eminent personalities deeply invested in peace-promotion or the consolidation of peace through sport: The 2011 jury was composed of:

- H. E. Nawal EL MOUTAWAKEL, Member of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee and Director of the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games in Rio 2016.

- H. E. Youssouf FALL, Secretary General of CONFEJES (Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sports of French –speaking States and Governments)

- Hein VERBRUGGEN, President of SportAccord

- Intendant General Lassana PALENFO, President of ACNOA (Association of African National Olympic Committees) and member of the International Olympic Committee

- Dmitry CHERNYSHENKO, President of the Organizing Committee of Olympic Games and Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014

- Marisol CASADO, President of the International Triathlon Union, member of the International Olympic Committee

- Ralf-René WEINGARTNER, Director of Youth and Sport, Council of Europe

- Olivier LAOUCHEZ, CEO of Trace TV

The Peace and Sport Awards were launched in 2008 and this year were presented in front of an audience of more than 500 prominent figures from politics, sport, the private sector, civil society who are participating in the 5^th Peace and Sport International Forum.

The Road To Monaco...

2011-10-25T21:29:00.003+03:00

The East Africa Cup has been nominated for the 'Sports Event for Peace' award at the the Peace and Sport International Forum 2011, which starts on Wednesday 26 October in Monaco.

The annual tournament, which takes place in Tanzania each June, combines education, cultural activities, fellowship and sport.

This is a short edit of the Road To Moshi movie, which was filmed in June 2011 as part of the East Africa Cup's media development programme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXqgGZhtvlQ

It will be premiered at the 2011 forum and features young people from Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, South Sudan, Rwanda, and Uganda.

An influential community of sporting, political and economic leaders will meet in Monaco tomorrow for the 5th edition of the Peace and Sport International Forum to discuss sport’s contribution to establishing and maintaining peace in sensitive areas of the world.

Placed under the High Patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, in a neutral and apolitical environment this unique summit will bring together more than 500 experts and prominent figures from 100 countries.

Notably, there will be more than 50 official government delegations, famous sports champions, major international organizations, 30 Olympic and non-Olympic International Sports Federations, 20-members of the International Olympic Committee, 40 Presidents of National Olympic Committees, private sector companies and numerous field operators (NGOs and associations).

Five Heads of State will also speak: H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco; the King of Lesotho H.R.H. Letsie III; the President of the Republic of Burundi H.E. Pierre Nkurunziza; the President of the Republic of Hungary H.E. Pál Schmitt, and the President of the Republic of Macedonia H.E. Gjorge Ivanov.

For more on the event, please click here:

http://www.peace-sport.org/awards-2011/nominees-for-the-peace-and-sport-awards-2011.html

If you are interested in getting involved with the East Africa Cup, please email eastafricacup@me.com

The Road To Moshi

2011-06-22T08:57:00.002+03:00

It's good to finally be in Moshi via a long and interesting journey which took Burundi, Rwanda and Nairobi.

We wanted to document the people who use sports in their community all year round as they make their way to Tanzania for a tournament that brings together the best in sports for development.

We've seen street children who go to school because they were motivated by a sports organisation in a slum - one which has its own professional team and trains photographers and film-makers too.

Filming at the Mathare Youth Sports Association library in Nairobi

We've met a Rwandan team who bring together Hutus, Tutsis and orphaned young people: they come for the football, stay for the English, life skills and computer classes and leave as friends.

We've been to Burundi too - a country where the president used to be a PE teacher and the president makes his staff go for a run every Friday - where Right To Play make sure that young people with disabilities participate equally in sport through sitting volleyball, a sport that's much tougher than it sounds...

Along the way we've been delivering pop up film workshops, and lending cameras to people so they can document their journey to the East Africa Cup. Watch this space for their contributions.

The training programme is underway now, and matches will start this afternoon - the finals will take place on Saturday 25 June in Moshi Memorial Stadium in the market area of Moshi.

(by Nick Raistrick - this is a multi-authored blog on behalf of the East Africa Cup where I am delivering training as part of a BBC World Service Trust training project)

MYSA Kenya, helping street - http://www.mysakenya.org/
CHRISC Rwanda - http://www.chriscrwanda.org/
Right To Play - http://www.righttoplay.com/International/the-team/Pages/Coaches/NzobonankiraBenjamin.aspx

Press Release - Destination Moshi

2011-06-14T13:57:00.000+03:00

14/06/2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For attention of the News Editor

Destination Moshi

Dust off your vuvuzelas for a celebration of African culture, fellowship and football at this year's East Africa Cup.

Have you ever been abroad? For many of the 1300 boys and girls from Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Uganda this is their first time, and it's been a long road to get there.

Not just because of the long journeys by bus (several days for some teams in order to arrive Moshi, Tanzania in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro), but because the clubs involved in the East Africa Cup (EAC) must show a year-round commitment to sport in their community: the football drives the passion, but it's used to provide a platform for training in life skills.

So the under 16 players attend morning workshops in topics like HIV and AIDS prevention, leadership, first aid and conflict resolution before each afternoon's games. For many of the of the young people taking part in the journey involvement in sport and the chance of being involved in the event has helped improve school attendance throughout the year.

In the afternoon there's the famous (and often competitive) under 16 football tournament, and this year there's also sitting volleyball - which gives disabled youngsters the chance to participate in physical activity.

Around half of all players are girls, and the which sends out a strong signal that girls can achieve; indeed a former EAC head of the referees went on to become the first CAAF (Confederation of African Football) commissioner, taking charge of international fixtures.

Whilst there are plenty of high profile success stories - and some EAC players have gone on to become professionals, - this isn't the main goal. The focus of the event is to highlight the role of youth as real changemakers in their respective “home” communities: youth leaders involved with the EAC and its participating organisations set an example in slum neighbourhoods, or be part of the peace-building process in areas affected by violent conflict.

The BBC World Service Trust's involvement means there will be training sessions for East African Journalists covering the event, as well as for youth leaders who want to develop media skills through promoting their organisation's work: there's a strong practical element to this, as the young people host local and international media covering the event, and they will work closely with the film-making group. A new addition for this year is a cartoon workshop! So expect plenty of exclamation marks!!!

In the evening the cultural teams put on a show. The dancing, singing, and drama from the countries involved creates an atmosphere where young people can make new friends from other countries: for youngsters who have never left their home neighbourhood this is quite an experience.

For Moshi, there's an real economic benefit: as well as local businesses benefitting, the schools which host the youngsters have been able to pay for new classrooms and repairs through

This year's East Africa Cup takes place between 20th and 25 June. The finals take place on the afternoon of Saturday 25 June at Moshi Memorial Stadium - come and say hello if you are in the area.

Partners in the EAC are formally Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), Kristen Idretts kontakt (KRIK), Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA), and Christian Sports Contact (CHRISC). Other supporting partners are BBC World Service Trust, Right to Play, Norway Cup, Norges Idrettsforbund, Fredskorpset, Statoil, Ultimate Security, Tanzania Football Federation, Tanzania National Sports Council, and NORAD.

–Ends-

Contacts

For general media enquiries, please contact: Elly Omondi omoelly@gmail.com

If you want to speak to the BBCWST media team contact: nick.raistrick@bbc.co.uk

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact:
George Kamau george.kamau@mysakenya.org or Bjarte Øen bjarte@krik.no

The East Africa Cup is looking for new sponsors - for more details please contact:
Svein Olsen sveino@npaid.org or Bjarte Øen bjarte@krik.no

Notes to editors

Much more than a sports tournament, the East Africa Cup is a celebration of sports, fellowship, cultural exchange and education. Set against the spectacular, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the event features more than 1300 participants from Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Uganda.
Before a ball is kicked the young people attending the event – and their leaders – get involved in a practical, educational programme of workshops. These include first aid, Kicking Aids Out, conflict resolution, leadership skills, and refereeing. The participating clubs must show a year-round commitment to using sports in their communities, and after each afternoon’s football there are cultural activities like dancing, signing and poetry.

The East Africa Cup (EAC) was created formally in 2004. The current core partners are Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), Kristen Idrettskontakt (KRIK), Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) and Christian Sports Contact (CHRISC).

Road To Moshi - Part One - Nairobi

2011-06-14T11:15:00.002+03:00

Some of the 'extras' who 'helped' us whilst filming at Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA). They are kids from one of East Africa's most notorious slum areas: they come and play football in safe surroundings. For some of those who are going to the East Africa Cup, it's their first time out of Mathare: a lot of them are getting passports (and yellow fever jabs!) for the first time.

We also filmed Mathare United: the Kenyan Premier League team associated with this famous community organisation. Unfortunately they lost: but their captain was articulate and pleasant to interview straight after the game, talking openly about his community and its problems and how sport can change lives. He didn't say he was gutted once.

As we visit teams we are carrying out pop up film workshops and leaving cameras for teams to film their journeys to the East Africa Cup, so the film is a collaborative process which will continue with the film and media skills interviews at the event...

Journalists wanted from Zambia, Zimbabwe and Burundi…

2011-05-23T19:30:00.003+03:00

Come to Moshi, Tanzania within sight of Mount Kilimanjaro. Receive excellent training from BBC trainers. Cover an inspiring youth sports development tournament. Make friends and tell the world about it.

The East Africa Cup is about a week in Moshi, and a year in the community. It’s for organisations who use sport in a positive way in East Africa, and for young people involved it’s an opportunity to get involved in an excellent sport, cultural exchange and education event.

Before a ball is kicked, young people attend workshops in topics like health, conflict resolution and leadership skills. Their leaders benefit not just from co-hosting the event, but also from the opportunities associated with being amongst some of the best referees, youth leaders and physios in the region.

The BBC World Service Trust has been involved in the event for the last two years, delivering training and mentoring in both journalism and media skills for youth leaders who need to use the media to get their message across.

It’s not just a sports story, so we don’t just want sports journalists: the practical training will cover interview skills, social media for journalists, getting a story from a press conference, and how to cover sports for development.

Accommodation and food is provided as is transport: although you’ll be travelling on the team coach, not flying. After the tournament you’ll get the chance to be mentored online by the team.

If you are interested, please get in touch – email iLearn@bbc.co.uk and explain why you want to get involved, including a CV. You can be a print, online or broadcast journalist, although you will be asked to work outside your comfort zone.

Training starts on 19 June, so you'll need to travel in advance of that - departure dates will be based on where you are based. Any questions please comment below.

The old and the new at EAC 2011

2011-05-03T12:56:00.003+03:00

Media skills training with the BBC World Service Trust will continue in 2011. Other workshops include health education, leadership skills, Kicking AIDS Out, refereeing, and coaching

There's been a few changes to this year's East Africa Cup.

This year there will be teams from Sudan, Burundi and Zimbabwe getting involved: and both volleyball and sitting volleyball will feature. Sitting volleyball achieved full Paralympic status since 1980 and its inclusion reflects a desire on the part of organisers to connect with the community - which includes people with disabilities.

Remember that the East Africa Cup is not just a football tournament: it exists to celebrate people who use sport in their community throughout the year, it's a cultural event, it's an education event and it's a get-together for friends from around the world.

So although we will be welcoming many new faces and new ideas in 2011, the East Africa Cup remains a celebration of fellowship, learning and fun... plus of course the chance to watch and play football in Moshi, Tanzania in the foothills of Kilimanjaro.

See you there.

Sport, community and rubbish

2011-04-18T15:21:00.001+03:00

Remember this time last year?

Frankly I couldn't quite recall what I was up to, but Google was on hand to remind me what was going on in the world: volcanic ash preventing flights in Europe, the Deepwater oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the Qinghai earthquake in China.

We were looking forward to the first African world cup, with commentators predicting it would be either the best or worst ever.

Without checking, I can tell you what the teams looking forward to the East Africa Cup were doing: using sport to improve their community.

That's because a year round commitment to using sport in the community is a prerequisite for all organisations involved with the East Africa Cup.

This doesn't just mean playing football: not that there's anything wrong with playing football, because at its best sport can be used to improve teamwork, leadership and physical fitness of young people.

Sport can also be used to teach young people about safe and healthy behaviour. Just as Adidas, Puma and Nike know that football motivates young people to buy their gear, community leaders and organisations such as Kicking Aids Out realise that sport can be the medium through which notoriously hard-to-reach teenagers can be motivated to learn about health issues, for example.

The team spirit that is created by involvement in sport can get even get young people excited about picking up litter - as this photograph from the MYSA 25th anniversary celebration in March shows. One couldn't help thinking that perhaps one or two famous professional footballers could learn a little humility from these youngsters.

There were also young people acting as hosts, meeting VIPS, organising seating and refreshments, refereeing, organising the PA, playing music, dancing, helping even younger people, and hosting information stalls.

Watch this space for more on how other participant organisations use sport in their community in advance of EAC2011.

Let the journey begin

2011-01-26T19:51:00.001+03:00

This year’s East Africa Cup (EAC) will be held in Moshi between June 20 and June 26.

But June is miles away – so why are you telling us now?

Mostly because we wanted to remind people that the EAC isn’t just about a week in Moshi - it's about a year in the community. All of the teams involved need to prove a year round commitment to using sport in the community before they can enter*.

For teams who make it - and we are anticipating around 1500 or so youngsters this year – the emphasis isn’t just on sport; before the games begin there are workshops each day on topics like conflict resolution, leadership and preventing HIV and AIDS. And at the end of each day there are cultural events which feature music, dance and theatre from participating countries.

There’ll be a BBC presence too: local journalists will learn how to cover sport and development issues, and youth leaders will learn about how to use media skills in order to help them promote their work.

As for the hard-working organizers of the tournament – they have been working hard already. Are there are enough pitches and accommodation for those involved? Do we have the right number of teams? Referees? First Aid teams? Seminar leaders? Is the website ready? (in fact the website isn’t ready but you can get a flavour of last year’s event here: http://www.facebook.com/eastafricacup )

It’s a long journey, but it hasn’t gone un-noticed: EAC 2010 was nominated as one of the best events for peace and development using sports in 2010 by the prestigious Peace and Sports organization based in Monaco – can we go one better this year?

http://www.peace-sport.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=304&Itemid=339&lang=en

(* - If your East African sports organization sounds like that get in touch via a comment this blog)

Tournament to go ahead shocker

2010-10-05T14:40:00.001+03:00

The East Africa Cup will happen in 2011, thanks to funding from the Norwegian Embassy.

With the confirmation, planning can begin in earnest for next year's event. It's excellent news for all involved - well done team.

The tournament, which brings together young people in a spirit of sport, fellowship and education, should be even better this year.

In other sports news there's a lot to get frustrated about in the field of professional sports: whether it's unfaithful footballers, match-fixing cricket players, athletes pulling out of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, it seems the papers are full of people who get paid to do sport behaving badly.

For people using sport as a tool for community development in poorer countries the choice made by some athletes not to travel is ominous. When 'elite athletes' refuse to compete in countries where they can't live in levels of luxury denied to billions on a day to day basis, you know there's a problem. Where once sport used to be a leveller between rich and poor nations, you might get the impression the lucky multi-millionaires at the top end of the success spectrum don't care about the ordinary sports fan.

And yet there are plenty of sportspeople who live up to their status as a role model. Some give quietly or do work in their community, others realise their name can add to an event.

These include David Beckham (who incidentally attended a Bobby Charlton Soccer School as a youth)who recently launched a football academy in Trinidad and Craig Bellamy whose foundation in Sierra Leone is about education as much as it is sport: http://www.craigbellamyfoundation.org/

This got me thinking - with next year's EAC in the planning which players do you think could represent the event?

More free training...

2010-08-25T19:14:00.002+03:00

Britain is full of 'back to school' posters even though it's August and schools haven't started yet.

This used to make me cross when I was a kid. Of course I hated school - and just wanted to play football. 'What's the point of school when I'm clearly going to end up playing for a top flight club like Middlesbrough and perhaps win the World Cup with England?' went my thinking.

Which shows how things don't work out: I now realise that I was lucky to be going to school - and that it was more useful than playing football for nine hours a day each August. The message at the East Africa Cup is you can do both - as we say in the short film 'nobody kicks a ball until they've completed a workshop' [see Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/East-Africa-Cup/117399884972074 ].

What some people don't perhaps realise is that the teams who are involved in the EAC need to show a year round commitment to using sport in their community: and this means education. Whether it's learning about conflict resolution, HIV and AIDS awareness, first aid or leadership skills making sure that you people learn more than football is at the heart of what we do.

The same goes for us in the training team, which is why we are encouraging people working in sport for development to get in touch if they are interested in online media skills training which has a sports twist. Our online journalism and media skills courses are aimed at both journalists and people who need to build relationships with people using the media as part of their work respectively. Both have a sports theme.

Places are limited, as we don't have an unlimited supply of mentors, so to get involved go to the Facebook page and leave a message telling us why you are interested in learning about how to use the media to improve your sport organisation's community work.

And as for the 'class of 2010' don't forget to finish your current iLearn courses… or you'll be put on detention.

Youth opportunities

2010-06-25T18:19:00.001+03:00

The East Africa Cup is a tournament that brings together youths from different countries , where the opportunity of participation belongs to youth under 13 & under 16 years both genders.

It’s really a youth participation tournament where youth themselves take responsibility for their peers. Youths participate at every level: organizing committee members, referees, first aiders, seminars/workshops facilitators, coaches…

Top image: CHRISC Uganda under 16 girls
Bottom image: She is 18 but a good first aider
Words by Papias Nyangezi & Jackson Mathew
Pictures by Nelson

Mike Letti

2010-06-25T13:38:00.000+03:00

Name: Mike Letti
Where I am from: Arua Town, Uganda
Organisation : Chrisc Uganda
Favourite sports team: Arsenal

Here to: For the Love of the kids. I want to help them realize their full potential. Share experiences with other leaders, learn new concepts and have fun.

What I do: Work with the youth as a development worker and in charge of technical development at the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA). I also volunteer as Sports Officer for CHRISC Uganda.

Who will win the world cup? Spain

A few of my favourite things: Listening to gospel music. Playing with children. Watching beautiful football (total football).

Nelson Ngari Wachiri

2010-06-25T12:24:00.002+03:00

Name: Nelson Ngari Wachira
Where I am from: I’m from Kenya in a small town in Nairobi called Kariobangi.
Organization: CHRISC (Christian Sports Contact)
Favourite sports team: Brasil

Here to: I’m here to make and meet new friends and to represent and market my Organization. I am also here to learn new things from the BBC workshop. I expect to learn a lot from the BBC workshop and also from my colleagues from other countries and their respective Organizations on what they do.

What I do: I am a graphic and a webdesigner and I also play soccer to keep myself fit. I am also a volunteer in CHRISC in the media team where I help in the updating of the CHRISC website and taking of photographs in the CHRISC activities.

A few of my favourite things: I like designing and developing of websites, online surfing, playing soccer, interacting, meeting and making friends.

Who will win the World cup: Brasil.

Irene Kusemerirwe

2010-06-24T21:47:00.003+03:00

Name: Kusemerirwe Irene
From: Kampala, Uganda’s beautiful and green capital city!
Organisation: Mulago School For the Deaf
Favourite team: Brazil

Here to: Learn about the media as we prepare for the East Africa Cup. I’m also a member of Christian Sports Contact in Uganda and I’d like to see how they work in Tanzania. I also expect to meet new friends and enjoy some of the football!

I like: ..making friends, watching football, movies and music, and I love dancing...and I think Brazil will win the World Cup

Links
http://www.chrisc-uganda.org/

Kicking Aids Out at the East Africa Cup

2010-06-24T17:03:00.004+03:00

The East Africa Cup was privileged to host the first Kicking Aids Out courses in the shadows of Mt Kilimanjaro in Moshi, Tanzania.

Partner organisations were from Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, as well as the Community Development Resource Association (CDRA). Facilitators from Kicking Aids Out partner organizations and MYSA (Mathare Youth Sports Association), CHRISC (Christian Sports Contact East Africa) carried out the training in which a total of 31 leaders were trained. In addition the region is proud to have the first two master trainers, namely Edwin Wesonga from MYSA Kenya and Paul Otieno from CHRISC East Africa.

The Kicking Aids Out resource team - together with the trained leaders - were excited to take part in the seventh edition of the East Africa cup where a total number of 64 teams from five countries (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia) started their matches. All players attended education seminars and workshops before their games.

Off the Street with Mista Wahome

2010-06-23T20:25:00.002+03:00

Moshi vs Dar es Salaam
Edwin Agola talks about the differences between Moashi and Da-es-Salaam, and the price one has to pay for littering in Moshi. This is in Swahili.

External Forces
Local content is slowly giving way to "globalisation.", will the East Cup face the same in Moshi? Shabaan Tolle gives his views in Swahili.

East Africa speaks Swahili
Swahili is the language of East Africa, more so in Tanzania and Kenya. Fadhili Idd traps Mista Wahome offside as Tanzania meets Kenya.

The EAC on the BBC World Service

2010-06-23T12:31:00.000+03:00

Listen below to the interview with Maqulate Onyango - head of the referees at the East African Cup.

Africa's First 'Vuvuzela Tax'

2010-06-22T10:26:00.000+03:00

press release:

nickraistrick@gmail.com

20 June Moshi, Tanzania

Don't mention the V Word – why the East Africa Cup will tax the trumpet

'the East African Cup, an annual sport and education event in Tanzania – will be taxing spectators who bring vuvuzelas to spend the money on education programmes which benefit the youth of the region.'

The vuvuzela is a part of southern African sporting and cultural tradition and an essential part of the atmosphere the first African world celebration of football, or a kind of constant low pitched tinnitus which ruins football matches - it depends on your position.

The French team don't like them, and in today's Kenyan Nation newspaper the plastic trumpet was seen as, er, a political football as an editorial accused its critics in the 'Western media' of being anti-African in its condemnation of the buzzing.

As vuvuzela fatigue sets in, over in Tanzania, East Africa Cup tournament organisers are taking a much more pragmatic approach to things: at the youth sports and development tournament spectators are encouraged to come along and make some noise with whatever comes to hand, but if you do want to add some vu vu voom to proceedings you are being asked to produce a voluntary donation towards the cost of organising the event.

It's important to note that before a ball is kicked all of the participants in the tournament, young people from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia, are made to go back to school; they participate in workshops on topics like leadership skills, first aid, HIV and AIDS awareness and conflict resolution.

It's a learning curve for the people putting on the event too: there are training sessions for aspirant African referees and first aiders, and the organising committee get the experience of hosting a multinational sporting event – skills which range from project management, to financial planning to international diplomacy.

The tournament has been growing steadily over the last 10 years and in 2009 featured more than 1300 participants in an event whose winners included a team from Uganda featuring former child soldiers:

The voluntary 'vuvuzela tax' is a light-hearted way of bringing attention to the fact that for the tournament to thrive in the future it will need to be financially self-sufficient.

Currently partner organisations - in other words the youth teams and associations which provide the teams and organisational capacity to put on the event - contribute some costs, as do sponsors like Ultimate Security who provide guards to keep young people at the event safe.

Whilst the infrastructure at this event has volunteers at its core, a tournament of this scale costs in terms of travel, renting pitches, even providing healthy food for the several hundred young players.

Although audiences at this annual event aren't quite as high as a certain other event happening in South Africa right now, for those involved it truly is as magical.

Background/May press release:

The world is watching.

All eyes are on Africa this June – the glory, the sunshine, the skill and the spectacular setting: could this tournament be the best yet?

The East Africa Cup (EAC) now boasts 1300 participants from Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda and whilst some people will be looking to South Africa for their summer football fix, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania provides the stunning backdrop to the event whose aim is to 'empower youth through sports'.

In practical terms this means that the EAC is about more than football – in fact nobody kicks a ball until they have attended a morning workshop. These include topics like HIV and AIDS awareness, leadership skills and conflict resolution.

In fact the tournament brings together people who use sport in their community and young people from countries where contact has sometimes been through conflict.

Although the quality of the football is very high – teams that do well in the EAC typically go on to participate in the big Scandinavian tournaments like Dana Cup and Norway Cup, and often win their categories!

There is also an emphasis on improving the participation of girls. George Kamau, the chair of the Organization Committee, says: “The ideal objective is a gender ratio of 50/50 – the current ratio is 60/40 – but we are improving every year says.”

The participants are exposed to a unique blend of football and seminars encompassing issues like sports medicine, media training, leadership training, HIV aids awareness, conflict resolution, refereeing, coaching and cultural networking.

There are also media training seminars and activities at the event provided by a team from the BBC World Service Trust. These help journalists cover sport and development issues, and help community leaders use the media more effectively in their work.

The EAC is annually held in the picturesque town of Moshi, under the brooding glaciers of the magnificent Kilimanjaro – during the last ten days of June. This year’s official dates are from June 22 – 27.

The event hosts four categories – Under 16 girls and boys, and Under 13 girls and boys. One of the main objectives of the EAC is also to foster the development of girls participation in their respective communities. Seminars and athletic activities therefore put a major emphasis on improving the participation of girls.

Partners in the EAC are formally Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), Kristen Idretts kontakt (KRIK), Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA), and Christian Sports Contact (CHRISC). Other supporting partners are BBC, Right to Play, Norway Cup, Norges Idrettsforbund, Fredskorpset, Statoil, Ultimate Security, Tanzania Football Federation, Tanzania National Sports Council, and NORAD.

The World Service Trust is the BBC's international charity. It uses the creative power of media to reduce poverty and promote human rights. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust

–Ends-

Filming Workshop

2010-06-20T19:05:00.004+03:00

The East Africa Cup as vibrant as it is, lacks awareness because most of the locals, participants and leaders aren't equipped with the crucial knowledge on how to create that awareness. Basic media skills like photography, reporting and filming are important in creating awareness and it is in this respect, that the organizers have deemed it important to organize media workshops for youth empowerment. Currently, there's an ongoing filming workshop which aims to empower youth by recording the football matches , seminars and the different cultural ongoings. They will then conclude by editing the footage and sharing it on our youtube channel. On top of that, the leaders are undergoing trainings on how to conduct an interview, and getting the best out of it.

Journalists wanted

2010-05-12T16:53:00.003+03:00

Here comes the summer...

2010-05-04T17:58:00.002+03:00

I’m reliably informed it’s snowing in Oslo so looking forward to this year’s East Africa Cup, in beautiful Moshi Tanzania, brings a warm feeling to people visiting from Europe’s long winter.

It’s partly the fact that a lot of the young people involved don’t often get the chance to travel internationally, and here they are coming together in a spirit of football and friendship: particularly when it’s young people from countries where there has been a history of conflict rather collaboration.

It’s also because before a ball is kicked the players have spent their mornings in workshops covering issues like preventative health measures and leadership skills, taught be passionate leaders who use sport for the benefit of their community.

The fairplay awards (which are taken seriously at the EAC) and cultural events put on each evening by the young people from the countries present all make this tournament special.
In fact there’s plenty for the organisers of a certain other tournament in Africa this summer could learn from this grassroots event.

Watch this space for more details on this year’s event, and if you were involved in last year’s tournament tell people about what’s happening this year – or write about it on this the Official East Africa Cup blog …

Media Skills Training Online

2009-10-20T14:40:00.001+03:00

Ah winter. A time of reflection, contemplation, sliding tackles on muddy fields (if you are based in the UK that is).

For the East Africa Cup it’s a time of planning, looking forward, examining how the lessons from 2009’s successful tournament can make 2010’s tournament even more spectacular.

It’s also a time for study: the BBC World Service Trust has been offering media skills training for leaders using sport positively in their community as part of the tournament. Trainees from Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya were involved in face to face workshops and practical activities such as hosting press conferences for the event.

Additionally journalists attending the tournament received journalism skills training from the BBC team: as well as group training activities, 1:1 sessions and production skills masterclasses.

Both groups received online training both before and after the face to face sessions, using iLearn courses: these have been developed by BBC journalists and featured mentored assignments.

If you know someone who may be interested in this kind of online training please get in touch. This person might be someone using sport in a development/community context who would benefit from media skills in order to promote their events and activity or a sports journalist who is interested learning more about sport for development.

At this stage we are finding out who is interested in this kind of training and cannot guarantee we will have the resources to carry out this training.

Contact Nick Raistrick at iLearn@bbc.co.uk

2010: It’s all kicking off…

2009-10-05T14:09:00.002+03:00

Since the East Africa Cup, it seems like so much has happened in the world of sport for development.

In fact I’ve only just managed to keep up to date with a fraction of the activity on the East Africa Cup Twitter: http://twitter.com/eastafricacup

Interesting developments include a film in the pipeline using a young footballer’s story get audiences interested in the science of HIV and AIDS and a world cup for street children to be held in Durban in March.

I’ve also been lucky enough to visit FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, and can confirm from discussions with their team that they are taking the development opportunity afforded by the first African Worlds Cup very seriously.

And round the corner, here in London, I’ve visited the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association whose planned conference next year goes beyond covering sport and looks at how development and sport are being used together. http://www.cba.org.uk/conferences_and_events/2010_Johannesburg.php

As far as next year’s tournament: it’s being discussed as we speak it seems but it would be great if someone else connected with the tournament could blog on their plans – similarly it would be excellent to hear from people involved in last year’s tournament and how it has affected them. If you are interested in contributing please get in touch.

Nick (BBC World Service Trust, media training)

The shouts and the cheers

2009-07-30T11:34:00.004+03:00

It's exactly one month and three days after the East Africa Cup held in Moshi Tanzania, on 27th June 2009 was the day that most of the participants were waiting.

So many came with hope and faith to clinch the coveted titles, battle lines were drawn but only two managed to reach to finals in each age category. The most exciting, hard fought game was that of the under 16 finals, we witnessed how the players fought up to their last breath with supporters on the touchlines shouting, cheering and dancing their teams.

This was as a sign of encouragement to keep on fighting but only one team clinched the trophy.

Before the finals the finalists were very busy as participants attended various seminars, and built their skills.

The Kicking AIDS Out resource team played a vital role through out the tournament. They prepared the participants to keep on fighting, shouting and cheering in the fight against AIDS.

Literally when we see youths living a positive and healthy life, transformed communities living a HIV free generation, sports contributing to healthy lives and youths from all religions and backgrounds benefiting from the diverse sports they venture in, then we will dance forever.

We still have a lot to do, let's keep on asking ourselves this question," fter East Africa Cup, are still happy are we still cheering and are we still shouting?", if not there must be something wrong. Let's keep on kicking and definitely we will hear shouts and be cheered. Keep up the spirit.

By Alex Ngaa

What links a Lebanese Kung Fu club, the Barefoot Sports Institute and Crystal Palace?

2009-07-29T19:17:00.002+03:00

The answer is that – like the East Africa Cup – they are all members of Beyond Sport World ( http://www.beyondsportworld.org/ ) which aims ‘to connect the widespread, global population dedicated to sport and development’. Quite an ambition.

The range of member organisations is diverse and impressive. It reminds you how many people are using sport in good ways. I particularly like the professional cycling team that races around the US and as the main marketing initiative for ‘globalbike’, an organisation which provides bikes to community care workers in the developing world.

Mitcham Korfball Club is in there too, as is an Ethiopian outfit that works with streetchildren using football, martial arts, athletics, tennis, basketball, circus, juggling, and dance: bigger names like the NBA and the British Council are represented.

In the build up to the first African World Cup it’s important that the opportunities for the sports-for-development sector to connect are taken up and this seems like a good platform.

Have a look at the EAC profile here: http://www.beyondsportworld.org/member/view.php?Id=116

Back to (virtual) school …

2009-07-23T14:20:00.000+03:00

Next week I'll be setting up round two of online training (iLearn) for sports journalists and leaders associated with the East Africa Cup.

For journalists the first round included modules on reporting sport and covering ‘sport for development’ issues.

For leaders there were modules on how to use the media to get your message across.

Future courses will be similar – but we have had a few specific training requests, and we know a bit more about you following our face to face sessions.

But if there’s anything you’d really like to learn about that you haven’t mentioned, please let us know. It might be useful to have a look at the modules we currently have available:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/whatwedo/how/2008/11/081110_ilearn_projects.shtml
Tom, Joe and Nick will act as mentors, and we’ll let you know about deadlines. If you can think of people who might benefit from these kind of courses but who weren’t part of the initial 20 trainees in Moshi

ps thanks for the pics so far and keep them coming in http://www.flickr.com/groups/eastafricacup/

We want your images of EAC 2009...

2009-07-13T19:11:00.002+03:00

Please add them to the flickr group - which you have to join of course. I'm sure people have better pix than me and the team because we spent too much time editing in the training room and not taking nice beautiful pictures of people playing football with Kilimanjoro in the background.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/eastafricacup/

After the goldrush

2009-07-06T13:25:00.002+03:00

When you spend a lot of time planning an event, you get so focused on it that it can be hard to properly visualise what things will look like at the end of it.

So when the sun is shining at a rock festival it's hard to picture how trashed and desolate the field will look when it's all over: when city fathers plan their olympic bid they can imagine the highlights package clearly (and who will provide the soudtrack usually Coldplay or U2) but not always what to do with the creaky monorail, massive debt and athletes village which nobody seems to want to live in 10 years later.

East Africa Cup 2009 is, of course, different. The action is over in Moshi for another year, but for many the training begins: iLearn online courses feature the mentors who provided face to face training at the event, and these are available until December.

This will provide an opportunity for sports journalists to improve their skills in terms of reporting local sport, reporting sport for development and hopefully think of their work outside of just the back pages.

For leaders working at NGOs using sport for development we will continue to help you use the media to get your messages across.

For more details get in touch: nickraistrick@googlemail.com

ps thanks for all your amazing feedback so fair, definitely appreciated

It Started With A Kick - Douglas D Bugingo

2009-06-27T09:52:00.001+03:00

Like the Confederations Cup it used to be about all about the football.

But three years ago something changed. Whereas before it was all about the quality of the football (and there is nothing wrong with admiring the finer points of the beautiful game) today the focus is on empowering youth. But how can you empower youth? The organisers of the East African Cup think they have found a way. Before games the excited young people aren’t just working out how to unlock the oppositions defence.

Every morning coaches players referees and administrators are involved in training sessions that range from networking and leadership, laws of the game, ‘Kicking AIDS Out’, conflict resolution and media skills to help NGO leaders to communicate their messages and journalists report them better.

“This is a great arrangement and very useful to us all. You get more knowledge on how to associate with other people from different backgrounds.” Eric Kavuma, a leader from Uganda said - and these activities are just as popular as the football.

“We are receiving a good response from the participants and most of them are appreciative of the seminars” Prossy Nakayi, a facilitator said.

Henry Wambeda is proof that these activities are having an effect. “For the two years I have attended the seminars I have greatly changed my life because I have learnt to live responsibly following the courses I have had on Kicking Aids Out.”

Of course football is still important, particularly for one Ugandan boy, Wasswa Melvin, who has joined the ranks of a number of former EAC players who have represented their country at international level. Although his team was knocked out in the penultimate day of the tournament he is still one to watch out for and his recent experience playing in South Africa should stand him in good stead for the future.

Finals day line up

2009-06-27T09:39:00.001+03:00

U13 Boys
8.00hrs
CHRISC Kisoro
CHRISC Arusha

U13 Girls
8.00hrs
CHRISC Arusha
Emima C

U16 Boys
0930hrs
CHRISC Nairobi
CHRISC Tanga

U16 Girls
0930hrs
DISL
CHRISC Arusha

U13 Girls
11.00hrs
MYSA Haruma
MYSA Mathare

U13 Boys
12.30hrs
EMIMA D
EMIMA F

U16 Girls
12.30hrs
Super Mary
EMIMA G

Exhibition
14.00hrs
Organising committee
Executive Committee

U16 Boys
15.30hrs
MYSA Githurai
CHRISC Arua

Hot debates by in the seminar on WHY SPORTS

2009-06-25T13:32:00.000+03:00

Today it was hot debates in the Kicking AIDS Out seminar when the youth groups had to argue for and against sport.

In the picture the whole resource team Judith and Imisa from Emima, Irene, Paul and Alex from CHRISC, Edvin and Jacquelean from MYSA and George Nange from the Kicking AIDS Out secretariat.

The resource team facilitated the sessions and some of the arguments for sport was:
- sport make me avoid bad company
- sport gives me friends
- sport keeps me busy and I stay away from sex

Some of the arguments against sport was
- I can get injured
- I can also fall for peerpressure from my team mates
- If I want to play for the National team I have to bribe

The debates was hot and many good arguments were shared. A comment from one of the girls was that she was happy her coach was a Kicking AIDS Out peerleader, he had supported her and her team beacuse of the discussions they had about life not only the tactics and techniques in sport. She said "I think maybe I am a better player because of that also..."

More to come...

Greeting from Kicking AIDS Out Resource team

2009-06-24T17:38:00.000+03:00

We are hereby challenging all the journalists in East Africa Cup to discuss the role of the media in the fight against HIV and AIDS! You are also welcome to join our sessions at MTS! And dont worry YOU will hear more from US!

Good morning ladies and gentlemen

2009-06-24T15:36:00.000+03:00

Whilst not all ex players are role models (think Gazza, Best, Maradonna), Mike - my trainee in the media skills seminar - is.

The former Ugandan striker, who scored seven goals for his country, works as a coordinator for a community sports organisation which works with young people teaching life skills and leadership through football.

The trained accountant turned to social work in order to give something back to his community: for the purposes of our sessions he’s the senior press officer hosting a press conference attended by 12 East African journalists.

He does this with calm efficiency despite a series of increasingly tough questions from selected journalists: I’m glad the questions are tough because they are receiving training (from BBC Your Game and World Service Trust trainers) too.

In a continent where press conferences have sometimes been an excuse for corrupt politicians to bribe underpaid journalists, it’s great to see one where people using sport for positive purposes get their message across whilst at the same time not being given an easy ride by the people they have invited.

There isn't a brown envelope in sight.

Do all the referees have whistles?

2009-06-23T15:34:00.000+03:00

Who’s got the corner flags?

Where’s the driver?

What’s the point of sport for development?

Some of the questions being asked (sometimes by myself) on day one of the East Africa Cup: by day two I have some answers.

The first one – yes, the referees are formidably organised at this tournament by an impressive Kenyan lady: the question came up in an organising committee meeting, but I think they were trying to wind her up.

The corner flags I can’t remember but I do remember the planning meetings needed to get 50 teams from all over East Africa to Moshi, Tanzania. It’s a bit like being a goalkeeper organising a sports tournament: people only notice you when things go wrong and admittedly there was a power outage at the opening ceremony (and a diplomatic crisis over national anthems which was skilfully averted).

The driver showed up, and the point of sports for development is that the only way to get to some young people is through involves lots of running, an inflated sphere (made of leather or other suitable material as I learned from the referees seminar) and something called the offside law.

Adidas and Nike know this – the value of sports to advertisers is ultimately what made Ronaldo rich. But football here is a force for the good.

The USP of this tournament is that it goes beyond sport: the mornings feature workshops on education, leadership, first aid, disease prevention and cultural exchanges between countries who used to be at war with each other.

And one or two former pros too …

Using football to s/tell a story

2009-06-21T19:12:00.000+03:00

So I’m here in Moshi, in the newly constructed outdoor ‘office’ planning the finishing touches to day one’s training for the tournament.

The objective to get both sports journalists and leaders to know what kind of stories sell.

We’ll be looking at ‘hooks’ or ‘news pegs’, and how to hang your story to them: and looking at why things don’t go well. For example we are in the middle of an eventful Confederations Cup, which is a big story here in Africa, especially in the run up to the 2010 World Cup: so not the perfect time to sell a ‘sports for development’ story to a sports editor because they are pretty busy.

But you might want to the editor of the features or health desk about how people are using sport to combat aids: they might be looking for ways of getting people interested in their pages and using football could be great way of doing this.

I used football once to sell a story to the education pages of the Guardian, a national newspaper in Britain. It’s no longer on the newspaper’s site, but was copied onto a West Ham fan site:

http://jlmd.blogspot.com/2007/03/english-for-footballers.html?showComment=1203638400000

To be honest it's not an amazing story but I thought the education editor might be happy to have an excuse to put football on his pages, especially at a time when expensive foreign players were a novelty and getting attention elsewhere in the press.

In the same way, you might use a football 'hook' to sell the story of the great community work your organisation is doing in your area, or to get across a health message... after all if football can be used to sell football boots or deodorant there's no harm in using it to sell your story to the world.

Nick

PS shame Rio can’t make it – who else would make a good interviewee?

Famous East African Footballers

2009-06-21T12:48:00.001+03:00

Been doing some research ahead of the cup on East African football. So far found out Tanzania the 'Taifa Stars' have never qualified for the World Cup. That made me wonder about what football stars East Africa has. I have heard of the Weah's, Eboue's, Toure's of West Africa but are there any East African that have become stars on the World stage? (or played in England?)

Footballers, holidays and weddings

2009-06-21T11:28:00.002+03:00

As part of the media seminars during the East Africa we're encouraging journalists to set up big feature interviews to pitch to editors. These interviews will be with not only people involved in the tournament but also professionals away from the tournament who know how football can be used to spread messages.

Rio Ferdinand is a perfect example of this in England. He regularly does interviews around subjects that are close to his heart to generate publicity for those causes. Knife crime is a huge issue in England at the moment and Rio has been one of the biggest names speaking out against it and supporting projects which are trying to get knives off our streets.

Rio recently interviewed the Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the Observer Sport magazine- they ended up takling more about football than politics but Rio spoke to the Prime minister about his concerns over knife crime and the publicity generated by the interview was huge.

We approached Rio about speaking with our journalists at the East Africa Cup as he has travelled to Africa in the past and feels very strongly about youth football. We recieved a very nice response wishing every luck for the tournament and apologies that Rio couldnt speak with us or do any interviews next week as he is in fact getting married. A valid excuse I'm sure you`ll agree!

So the search continues for a big feature interviewee.... The professional players here are finally enjoying a two week holiday at the end of the season so contacting and tracking them down is proving difficult.

Who is your dream interviewee...we can only ask. Answers on a postcard please ( i.e respond here!)

See you in Moshi.

What's it all about?

2009-06-08T17:47:00.001+03:00

At one level the East Africa Cup ( http://www.eacup.org/ ) brings together young people to play football.

But there's more to it than that: the annual tournament provides an opportunity for people to learn about leadership, networking, coaching, refereeing, first aid, and - from this year - media skills.

We are working on a programme of events which will bring together sports journalists who will improve their reporting skills: they'll also learn about covering development issues.

Leaders attending the tournament who work for a range of East African community groups will learn about how to use the media to get their message across - whether it's recruiting new players or communicating complex health messages to journalists without using jargon that people won't understand.

The countdown begins...

2009-06-04T18:25:00.000+03:00

For players in the big European football leagues it’s wind down time: I like to think of them lounging around a gold-plated pool waiting for their agents to tell them which colours they’ll be wearing next season - and for how many million.

For the organisers of the East Africa Cup it’s one of the busiest times of the year: the tournament, held in Moshi, Tanzania, will take place between 22nd – 28th June 2009 and there's a lot to organise, from making sure players arrive, sorting accomodation, and making sure the people delivering seminars (like me) have their - often outrageous - requests dealt with efficiently.

For more details, click here: http://www.eacup.org/ and watch this space for more news as preparation gathers pace.

*Author’s Note* eventually it won’t be me writing this blog, it’ll be people using sport-for-development and learning media skills, plus sports journalists learning about reporting development issues, as part of the tournament’s programme which also includes
Youth rights (including fair Play/justice/environment/child labour issues)
HIV/Aids and Drugs and Substance abuse
Sports related issues (First aid, sports medicine (injury prevention and treatment)
Leadership/community participation
Volunteerism
Alternative activity e.g. Frisbee
Interfaith dialogue/reconciliation