Rwanda was recently confirmed as host of the Veterans’ world cup championship slated in July 2024. The development is a result of a memorandum of understanding signed between the Federation Internationale de Football Veterans en Europe (FIFVE), the tournament organisers, and local football governing body Ferwafa. Times Sport had a discussion with FIFVE president, Fred Siewe who shared more insights on why Rwanda was picked to host the competition, the agenda of the competitions and more. How did the Veterans’ world cup championship come to your mind? The veterans’ world cup championship is a football project that I’ve had for some years. I thought of football for veterans because passion never dies. Most former football players still have that passion. When they reach their 40s and 50s …they play as veterans, they like to be together and most of them can bring opportunities for the young guys because some who are in that age are business executives or managers of companies. That’s why I am bringing them together in Rwanda through this Veteran world cup tournament in July 2024, with some business forum as well with those guys to bring opportunities. What is the rationale behind bringing it to Africa? It will only bring together former footballers but also professors, doctors, businessmen. It will also be an opportunity for the country because we are expecting more than 5000 people who will stay in the country for 10 days, with more than 50 million people also expected to follow the tournament from different parts of the globe. Some televisions are looking to take over the broadcast rights of the competition. Many televisions are already in discussion with our media director but we will give updates on this in the future. The challenge is that the world knows Africans can bring new concepts and bring Europeans, Asians, Americans and other people from all walks of life because we are thinking that we have this continent to build and only we, Africans, have the responsibility to build the continent. There is a big number of high-profile footballers worldwide who retired from international football. Can we expect them in Kigali? Of course there are many key players who retired and many of them will be in Rwanda. You will see them in Kigali. In October this year, we will organise an evening gala during which a ‘legends’ ceremony’ will be held to present what will be on the agenda of the competition in 2024 and some of those legends will be in Rwanda to attend the gala. Patrick Mboma, who was with me during the signing of the MoU as the FIFVE brand ambassador, will be there, you will be able to see Emmanuel Adebayor, Jay Jay Okocha…Rwanda will be able to welcome so many former players especially legends who changed the face of world football. It is the first time the competition is coming to Africa and Rwanda in particular. What do you think this means for the continent? The meaning is that…I live in Europe, I had an option to organize it in Europe, Asia or in the United States. But I chose Africa first because we are Africans, it’s our time now to lead the world’s football because we have the competence to do so. And Rwanda was my choice because, thanks to their political leadership, the country gives a chance to people to bring big projects and bring a dynamic Africa and that’s why choosing Rwanda was very fast. When I arrived in Rwanda, I met Sports Minister [Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju] and the head of the Football Association, Olivier Nizeyimana. It was easy to discuss with them about bringing the project to Rwanda. What’s in the Memorandum of Understanding that you signed with the FA? The Memorandum of Understanding we signed with the government and Ferwafa is a sign of approval from both sides that Rwanda will host the competition and that we will work together to ensure that it becomes a success. What will Rwanda benefit from hosting the veterans’ world cup championship? The MoU we signed was actually a win-win cooperation and at the end of the day, it’s Rwanda that will win. People who will come for the competition will eat in Rwanda, stay in Rwandan hotels, get driven in Rwandan cars…the economy of Rwanda will win at the end of the day. What do you think this competition will contribute to Rwandan football and Africa at large? That’s definitely what we are looking for. We are looking to bring those football stars and tour different schools to interact and inspire young guys out there. I hope meeting them will give children motivation to become great footballers and their experience will help Ferwafa to level up their football structure. I believe Rwanda wants to win football competitions in the future, Rwanda wants to create good and performing football players but to win you need to learn from football experience from former players who played for big footballing nations like Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, and others. I think interacting with them will give them a big motivation. Are there other activities planned during the veterans’ world cup championship in Kigali? The Veterans’ World Cup championship is not just about competing. We are planning business forums. Veterans are not only former football players. There are medical doctors, businessmen who like football, that’s why we will organize a business forum to give partners in Rwanda a chance to present business opportunities available for partnerships. Some will come to Rwanda for tourism purposes where they will be able to visit different parts of the country. But all we want is to see Rwanda be a destination to sell. What makes the Veteran’s world cup different from other football competitions? This veterans’ world cup is not a 90-minute competition because they might not have enough energy to play 90 minutes. They will at some point play 60 minutes or even 40. How many countries will be represented in this tournament? All continents will be represented but the number of teams won’t go below 16.
