Rwanda has been put on the alert to host next year’s futbolNet regional tournament if the current political situation in Burundi does not improve, according to the Executive Director of Olympafrica, Thierno Alassane Diack.

Initiated in 1988 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Olympafrica aims to further social development through sports and promote the creation of small-scale sports and socio-educational centers in African countries.

In an exclusive interview with Times Sport after 2017 FutbolNet regional competition held last week in Nyanza district, Southern Province, Diack said, "We have to wait and see what happens with the situation in Burundi, where the next tournament is supposed to be held.”

"In case the situation does not improve, we may ask Rwanda to host the games because of the good organisation we saw in this year’s edition,” the Senegalese noted.

He added that, "Our goal is to educate the kids and to give them efficient values that will help them in their entire lives.”

This year’s tournament attracted six countries including hosts Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, DR Congo, Zanzibar and Tanzania – all represented in both boys’ and girls’ categories, aged between 12 and 15 years.

Jean Paul Mana, the Director of Olympic Africa Youth Center in Nyanza, also said that because Rwanda is known for good organisation, it is most likely to host the 2018 regional tournament.

"To us, we are always ready to host the regional tournament just like this one and above all, we will continue to provide more opportunities for young people and local communities to practice futbolNet and to become empowered,” he stated.

The Olympafrica programme offers a wide range of sporting, social and educational activities for young people and communities in 39 centers across 35 African countries. 

Olympafrica is one of the flagship programmes of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA). It was designed with the goal of helping African youths to practice their favourite sport and share the values of Olympism.

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