{"id":51503,"date":"2024-09-26T15:14:49","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T15:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/el-hadji-diouf-shares-vision-for-african-football\/"},"modified":"2024-09-28T11:08:36","modified_gmt":"2024-09-28T11:08:36","slug":"el-hadji-diouf-shares-vision-for-african-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/el-hadji-diouf-shares-vision-for-african-football\/","title":{"rendered":"El Hadji Diouf shares vision for African football"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The football legend who played for major teams in Africa and Europe, spoke to IGIHE on the sidelines of the maiden SportsBiz Africa Forum, a Pan-African platform discussing the Nexus between Sports and Business as a steering tool towards Africa\u2019s Development.<\/p>\n<p>He expressed his heartfelt return to Rwanda after a period of two years. He last visited Kigali in 2022.<br \/>\n\u201cFirst of all, I want to thank all Rwandans for the warm reception. Since I arrived here, I\u2019ve had no issues; I feel as if I am at home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Diouf reiterated his admiration of the strong similarity and relationship between Senegal and Rwanda saying that every time he comes to Rwanda, he notices positive changes due to the country\u2019s robust and dynamic leadership that treats sport as a priority.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-75302 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/pic_8-6.jpg\" alt=\"Diouf has a vision for African Football\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWhen you look at the infrastructure here, they are similar to what our president, Macky Sall, has given us. These are friendly nations, and both presidents, President Kagame and Macky Sall, are friends. I know this because Macky Sall is a very close friend of mine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are both leaders who value the youth. To be honest, I haven\u2019t been away from here for long, but every time I come, I find something new has been achieved. This shows that you have a great leader, a leader you should trust, a leader you should follow, a leader who is recognized across Africa because everyone can see where you are coming from and where you are going. It is important to emphasize this,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Diouf pointed out that the youth have no excuse not to take advantage of the opportunities that the Rwandan government has provided, particularly with the existing sports infrastructure, which benefits not only Rwandans but also Africa as a whole.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Everywhere I go, my mission is to bring joy to Africa. They always ask me about the 2002 World Cup match against France and Sweden, which shows I had great moments in football, and everything we do in life is meant to bring happiness to people,&#8221; said he.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-75297 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/pic_3-20.jpg\" alt=\"El Hadji Diouf has won many trophies in his football carrier.\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Diouf, 43, gained widespread prominence during the 2002 World Cup when he captained the Senegal national team and played for famous clubs like Liverpool in England, among others.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-75296 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/pic_2-20.jpg\" alt=\"El Hadji Diouf has played for different clubs including Liverpool.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-75295 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/pic_1-25.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-75298 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/pic_4-13.jpg\" alt=\"Famous Sports journalist Usher Komugisha Moderated the event\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-75299 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/pic_5-10.jpg\" alt=\"Many Sports personalities are gathered in Kigali for the SportsBizz Africa forum 2024\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-75301 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/pic_7-5.jpg\" alt=\"Renowned Rwandan international football referee was recognized as an example of what women can achieve in sports  \" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-75300 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/pic_6-7.jpg\" alt=\"The maiden SportsBiz Africa Forum is under way in Kigali\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Liverpool and Senegal international footballer El Hadji Diouf has expressed his undying desire to see the sport on the African continent improve so that African countries can dominate the game on the global stage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have done a lot for African football and we want to see African football develop to the highest level and one day see an African country winning the world cup,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":2000075294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[75],"byline":[3135],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-51503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-homenews","byline-sam-k-nkurunziza-2"],"bylines":[{"id":3135,"name":"Sam K 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