Former Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Bernard Lama who is among dignitaries that took part in naming baby gorillas during the 19th edition of Kwiza Izina ceremony on Friday, says the partnership between his former club and Rwanda is not only good for tourism but also crucial for football development in the country.
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Lama shared this during an exclusive interview with Times Sport, after ‘Meet and Greet’ event held at Kigali Marriott Hotel where he met 30 young players from the PSG Academy in Rwanda.
"It is my first time in Rwanda and it is a pleasure to be here. I know that you (Rwanda) have a special relation with gorillas, I don’t know much about the event but I’m very happy to be a part of that (Kwita Izina) ceremony,” he said.
The 60-year-old also described PSG-Rwanda tourism partnership as a health partnership, saying that it has helped the Visit Rwanda brand increase its visibility on the international level.
"The partnership between PSG and Rwanda is a good partnership on both sides but mostly on the side of Rwanda and that’s why I am here. Many people have been coming here in the recent years and I think that the partnership has its own contribution to that,” Lama said.
He added, "I don’t think that football is more important in this partnership, visibility of Rwanda is but when you’re in that football world people recognize you and I think that is good for Rwanda.”
In his address to the youngsters, during the ‘meet and greet’ Lama said that football is not a sport of uneducated or illiterate people and encouraged them to put much effort in education for them to become successful footballers.
‘I have not seen them playing on the pitch but I have heard that they did well during the PSG academy world cup in France, so I hope that some of them will continue improving and growing to become top level footballers.
Rwanda and Paris Saint-Germain recently extended their partnership until 2025 after a fruitful initial three-year collaboration. It is also through the existing partnership that PSG opened an academy in Huye District, Rwanda, in November 2021 with an objective to train future talents and encourage Rwandan youngsters to play football.
A total of 172 children, boys and girls aged between 6 and 16, are taking part in the academy’s project.