LAUSANNE - The president of the Burundi Football Federation, Lydia Nsekera, was honoured by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday for promoting the cause of women in sport. The IOC presented Women and Sport Awards to Nsekera and four other administrators at a ceremony at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.
LAUSANNE - The president of the Burundi Football Federation, Lydia Nsekera, was honoured by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday for promoting the cause of women in sport.
The IOC presented Women and Sport Awards to Nsekera and four other administrators at a ceremony at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.
In 2004 Nsekera became only the second woman in Africa to head a football federation, after Liberia’s Sombo Izetta Wesley.
The IOC praised Nsekera and the other winners for making "tremendous contributions to strengthening the participation of women and girls in sport on an international level.”
Under Nsekera, Burundi’s national under-17 men’s team won the regional Cecafa Cup, and she also organised the first women’s football championship in Burundi. She also led a successful national campaign to get women involved in refereeing, sports administration and coaching.
The other winners of the IOC award were Maria Caridad Colon Ruenes of Cuba, Arvin Dashjamts of Mongolia, Danira Nakic Bilic of Croatia and Auvita Rapilla of Papua New Guinea.
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