AYC, a lifetime chance!

As you may all be aware or in case you didn’t know, the 16th African Youth Championship gets underway today in Kigali but frankly, are Rwandans ready to organize a memorable tournament that will leave a lasting mark on the continent and beyond? I had always wondered whether I was just being unrealistic by insisting that hosting the continental youth championship is a once in a lifetime opportunity, which we must make better use of or else we count it as a failed attempt to convince the world that we are actually serious. To use Minister Joseph Habineza’s words, how many would have given Rwanda a chance stage a major continental championship 14 years ago? Not many indeed, and even at this stage, very many beyond Rwanda’s boarders can not believe what they’re hearing or about to witness in the next 14 days. At first, I thought I was alone with the view that for a country that, just 14 years ago was in total ruins and with nothing to offer to the outside world, to be in a position that Rwanda finds herself right now is mind-boggling to say the least, but I’m not. Sports Minister Habineza, who is also head of the Steering Committee for the 2009 African Youth Championship, and Ferwafa president Brig. Gen. John Bosco Kazura, the head of the tournament Local Organizing Committee both share that view. It was not a shock from my point of view to hear the two gentlemen not taking anything for granted and admitting that Rwandan must treat this occasion as if there is no tomorrow. Habineza’s confessions that Rwandans are fortunate to be able to host such a major tournament while addressing a press conference for the local media on Friday might not go down well with many I’m sure, but believe it or not, he’s actually right, it’s as simple as that. May be to quote him for better understanding, the Minister said, “To host this competition is a once in a lifetime opportunity. How we do with this championship (in terms of organization) will determine our future (as far as staging bigger competitions is concerned).” He wondered, “Who in 1994, hoped Rwanda could host the African Cup of Nations? It’s just 15 years down the road, and here we are, I’m really excited about it.” And I think he has right to be excited being the main force behind Rwanda getting the nod from Caf to stage the competition. I hate to repeat this because many commentators, mostly in the field of politics have talked about it time and again but to see Rwanda beat her bigger, richer, older, more developed neighbors to staging a major continental event is something that deserves top credit. What do you think? Nonetheless, such achievements do not come cheaply, they come with big costs. For instance, it’s hard to believe, especially from a financial side that this particular event is likely to cost the government of Rwanda in the excess of $4 millions! So, lets put it this way, even for a government to make an investment in the excess of $4, it would definitely expect to reap something out of it, isn’t it? So how are you, me and any other Rwandan prepared to contribute to making this competition a success story, the Rwandan way? Here we go; what about going to the stadium(s) and back our boys, starting today when they take on Mali in the opening game at Amahoro national stadium, kick-off 3:30pm as they seek to make history if they can win the title at the very first time of asking. Lets take our chance while we have it, first by putting on memorable show in terms of organization and hospitality towards the visiting delegations and then support our boys in big numbers, after that, it would be upon the power that be to judge Rwanda for future opportunities. A successful African Youth Championship in terms of organization and performance could be the only key to more and better major events coming to Rwanda I suppose, so why don’t we make better use of this particular occasion while we still have the chance? Who knows if this is Rwanda’s chance to prove to the world that, 15 years after overcoming probably the worst Genocide ever in the history of human kind, there is more this country can contribute to making the world but most importantly Africa a better place not only through political means but the beautiful game! Kaka and the crazy Man City Sheiks! I know this has nothing to do with Rwanda hosting the 2009 African Youth Championship or US President-elect Barack Obama’s much anticipated inauguration on Tuesday but it has been making the footballing headlines the whole week. If Brazilian superstar Kaka, real name Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos Leite does move to Manchester City for a reported £100m then in a way it is going to change the face of world football for ever. In the sense that, the whole transfer market of football players could potentially ‘blow up’ with teams starting to demand crazy fees to sell their players, and it is reported that Kaka could earn in the region of £250,000 a week if he joins Man City. What would this mean for other players? Surely they would also start demanding crazy salaries! I am not too concerned about the success the outgoing Ballon do’r winner may bring to the blue side of Manchester yet I do not see them breaking into the top four within the next two seasons as the abundantly skilled but devoted man of God is demanding. Kaka deserves to be playing in the Champions League but going to City, he will not achieve this, he’d rather join my favourites Newcastle United! Aha… caught u. Wish you could see the look on my face as I typed the last sentence. But seriously, it’s crazy to see a player costing that much given the fact that in 2001 Real Madrid paid Juventus £46m for Zinedine Zidane or Alan Shearer’s world record transfer of £15 from Blackburn Rovers to his hometown club, Newcastle United just over 12 years ago! NOTE: Don’t forget to get your match tickets for the 16th African Youth Championship that gets underway today at Amahoro national stadium. Ends