The “United Against Malaria”campaign, which will start next month and run until the end of the World Cup, has won the backing of singer Bono, actress Ashley Judd and philanthropist Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill.
Players such as U.S. captain Landon Donovan and the Ivory Coast team have already said they are behind the campaign, while other prominent footballers backing the movement will be revealed when the campaign is officially launched.
Malaria, which spreads through the bites from invested mosquitoes, kills nearly one million people a year, almost all in Africa where a child dies from the disease every 30 seconds.
The United Nations is trying to get universal access to diagnostic tests, mosquito nets and malaria medicine as part of its bid to cut the number of deaths to zero by 2015.
“Malaria is a disease that you have at household level. You use football to bring messages on prevention measures or how to treat people,”Awa Marie Coll-Seck, executive director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, told Reuters on Saturday.
“This will reach them as they will watch football and if messages are linked to that it will be very important vehicle for information for us,” she said on the sidelines of FIFA’s medical conference in Zurich. The Roll Back Malaria Partnership comprises UN agencies, the World Bank, leading drug makers and aid experts.
Cole-Seck,who was in Zurich to present the campaign to representatives of countries from across the world, said that through football it was possible to gather more support from people in developed countries who could act as donors. Malaria affects 247 million people each year, with 86 percent of cases in Africa.
Cole-Seck said there was a slight risk players could get malaria when they are in South Africa next summer but this could be reduced by informing people about the disease.
“It’s not a part of Africa that has too many cases, but it can happen and people need to be careful,” she said.
We will make it clear why malaria matters. If you look at malaria, at least 40 percent of the world’s population is at risk of this disease,”Cole-Seck said.
“At the same time, it’s a disease which affects particularly children and pregnant women and they are the vulnerable ones in the society. Malaria also has an impact on the economics of countries, on the education of people, on poverty,” she said.
FIFA has recently introduced “The 11 for health” program to teach the youth of Africa about the main diseases affecting the continent within the parameters of football and one of its messages includes using treated bed nets.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
CONGRATULATIONS GHANA:YOU HAVE MADE AFRICANS PROUD.
Congratulations to Ghana U-20 World Cup Team for making Africa and the entire Black Race prod over they gallant defeat of the almighty Brazilian Team. What really interest me in the match is not on how the match was played but the technicality of both teams, this shows that Africa Football have come of age.
It pains me and some of us that hold football to a high esteem, for those that take football as a religion on what have been happening to Nigeria Football. This is a Country that was once the best in Youth Football in Africa and one of the best in the whole world.
If we are to tell ourselves the truth and if we are to come back to where we are before now in youth football we must remove politics in the running of our football. This is a country were everything is politics that is why we don’t progress. If I may ask, is this the only country in the world that has different ethnic race? Or is this the only country in the world that has different religious belief? If the answer is no then why is Nigeria case different?
I have said it time without number that for us to be among the best in the game of football first and for-most we must allow those that are qualified i.e. that have played the game to the highest level to run the affairs not those so called politicians that feels that Glass House is their birth right. Secondly, School Football (Academicals) should be introduced back to Secondary School curriculum. And lastly, we should not neglect our Local League; there must be a call on all those Multi-national Companies to invest on our league. As you can see majority of Ghanaian players plays in their local league.
I believe that when all these are in place, Nigeria will perform well in every level of our football. Once again on behalf of all Africans and the entire Black Race I say big congratulations.
.
It pains me and some of us that hold football to a high esteem, for those that take football as a religion on what have been happening to Nigeria Football. This is a Country that was once the best in Youth Football in Africa and one of the best in the whole world.
If we are to tell ourselves the truth and if we are to come back to where we are before now in youth football we must remove politics in the running of our football. This is a country were everything is politics that is why we don’t progress. If I may ask, is this the only country in the world that has different ethnic race? Or is this the only country in the world that has different religious belief? If the answer is no then why is Nigeria case different?
I have said it time without number that for us to be among the best in the game of football first and for-most we must allow those that are qualified i.e. that have played the game to the highest level to run the affairs not those so called politicians that feels that Glass House is their birth right. Secondly, School Football (Academicals) should be introduced back to Secondary School curriculum. And lastly, we should not neglect our Local League; there must be a call on all those Multi-national Companies to invest on our league. As you can see majority of Ghanaian players plays in their local league.
I believe that when all these are in place, Nigeria will perform well in every level of our football. Once again on behalf of all Africans and the entire Black Race I say big congratulations.
.
Friday, October 16, 2009
SERENA WILLIAMS TO GET OPEN VERDICT SOON.
Serena Williams is likely to discover whether she will be further punished for her outburst at a line judge at the US Open before the end of the ,according to WTA chief executive Stacey Allaster.The Australian Open and Wimbledon champion was fined $10,000 for the verbal attack on the official during the semi-finals at the Flushing Meadow last month.
The 28 year old however, still faces possible exclusion from future Grand Slam Committee, which oversees the four major tournaments in tennis.” First of all, I’d like to say I think Serena is a fantastic champion and a great person”, Allaster said at the China Open.
“She has acknowledged the incident in New York as being a mistake, and something that she’s not proud of, and she’s apologized for that”.
“That is under investigation, it is ongoing…it would be safe to assume that they will make a decision before the year end”. I think all of us will love to have it resolved sooner rather than later. It would be to the best interests for the sport and definitely the best interest for Serena.
Williams bowed out of the China Open in the third round this week, but not before assuring that she would return to the number one spot in the ranking next week. The 11 times Grand Slam singles champion had no altercations with officials and she had taken on board the lessons from the incident.
“I’m a very passionate player and I do the best I can in the best manner I can”, she said after her defeat to Nadia Petrova.”Obviously I’d be not smart if I were to do the same thing. It’s important for people to learn from things they did in the past, and I learned and I would never do the same thing”.
The 28 year old however, still faces possible exclusion from future Grand Slam Committee, which oversees the four major tournaments in tennis.” First of all, I’d like to say I think Serena is a fantastic champion and a great person”, Allaster said at the China Open.
“She has acknowledged the incident in New York as being a mistake, and something that she’s not proud of, and she’s apologized for that”.
“That is under investigation, it is ongoing…it would be safe to assume that they will make a decision before the year end”. I think all of us will love to have it resolved sooner rather than later. It would be to the best interests for the sport and definitely the best interest for Serena.
Williams bowed out of the China Open in the third round this week, but not before assuring that she would return to the number one spot in the ranking next week. The 11 times Grand Slam singles champion had no altercations with officials and she had taken on board the lessons from the incident.
“I’m a very passionate player and I do the best I can in the best manner I can”, she said after her defeat to Nadia Petrova.”Obviously I’d be not smart if I were to do the same thing. It’s important for people to learn from things they did in the past, and I learned and I would never do the same thing”.
Friday, October 9, 2009
NIGERIAN FOOTBALL ADMINISTRATION NEEDS A CHANGE.
Congratulations fellow football loving men and women of our supposed football loving nation. I will not fail also to congratulate the Minister of Sport for our inability to move beyond this stage in the on going under U-20 youth competition in Egypt, I will also not fail to salute the politician cum self acclaim football technocrat in our glass house in Abuja.
Indeed, change in life’s permanent feature, since no condition, as goes the old cliché is. In business, when profits are low and all other factors for progress fails, change of direction becomes an absolute necessity. In Nigeria where the game of football is a religion, when things don’t work, actions are taken. Nigerian football is no longer what it used to be in the 80s and 90s.The ongoing under-20 in Egypt is the latest proof that Nigerian football need to be salvage.
What do the minister of sport, chairman of Nigerian Football Federation and Nigerian Sport Commission have to tell Nigerians that we last won the Nations Cup 15 years ago when Gen.Sani Abacha was the Head of State? That we failed to qualify for the last World Cup finals held in Germany and are on the verge of another collapse? That in 49years of Nigerian existence we have only managed to take part in World Cup finals thrice and never reached the quarterfinals?
Now, we have reached a point where those who run the country have to take a long hard look at Nigerian football and make bold decisions. The game cannot be left in the hands of novices who called themselves football administrators because is the biggest unifying factor the country has ever known. The present leadership has failed the nation and they need to be changed. Presently we have ex-footballers who played this game with clubs with vast experience like Jay Jay Okocha, Taribo West, Sunday Oliseh, Victor Ikpebah, Stephen Keshi and so on and so fort to take over this game we value so much. Of course, there is nothing in football lexicon to suggest that ex-footballers make the best administrators. But again, we have seen ex-players run the game with successes in the respective countries and international platform. Aside the ex-footballers, there are in every sphere of life Nigerians of highest integrity ready to take the game to the next level. But they have so far been denied by a cabal who sees football as Oil Company and milking cow.
Time has come for a change. Nigerian football cannot afford to play second fiddle on the continent it once ruled with all majesty. You watch our teams play these days and you wince,for,as they struggle against teams like Mozambique,Venezuala,Kenya,you know things have fallen apart and I pray the centre can still hold.
Indeed, change in life’s permanent feature, since no condition, as goes the old cliché is. In business, when profits are low and all other factors for progress fails, change of direction becomes an absolute necessity. In Nigeria where the game of football is a religion, when things don’t work, actions are taken. Nigerian football is no longer what it used to be in the 80s and 90s.The ongoing under-20 in Egypt is the latest proof that Nigerian football need to be salvage.
What do the minister of sport, chairman of Nigerian Football Federation and Nigerian Sport Commission have to tell Nigerians that we last won the Nations Cup 15 years ago when Gen.Sani Abacha was the Head of State? That we failed to qualify for the last World Cup finals held in Germany and are on the verge of another collapse? That in 49years of Nigerian existence we have only managed to take part in World Cup finals thrice and never reached the quarterfinals?
Now, we have reached a point where those who run the country have to take a long hard look at Nigerian football and make bold decisions. The game cannot be left in the hands of novices who called themselves football administrators because is the biggest unifying factor the country has ever known. The present leadership has failed the nation and they need to be changed. Presently we have ex-footballers who played this game with clubs with vast experience like Jay Jay Okocha, Taribo West, Sunday Oliseh, Victor Ikpebah, Stephen Keshi and so on and so fort to take over this game we value so much. Of course, there is nothing in football lexicon to suggest that ex-footballers make the best administrators. But again, we have seen ex-players run the game with successes in the respective countries and international platform. Aside the ex-footballers, there are in every sphere of life Nigerians of highest integrity ready to take the game to the next level. But they have so far been denied by a cabal who sees football as Oil Company and milking cow.
Time has come for a change. Nigerian football cannot afford to play second fiddle on the continent it once ruled with all majesty. You watch our teams play these days and you wince,for,as they struggle against teams like Mozambique,Venezuala,Kenya,you know things have fallen apart and I pray the centre can still hold.
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