Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The Leone Stars play in Spain

The Leone Stars played in Spain last month, thanks to a generous donation from a cell phone company.

AllAfrica.com reports:

One of the leading mobile phone giants in the country, Africell, continues their relentless support towards football in the country with the donation of US$6,000 to the Single Leg Amputee Sports Club, ahead of their international trip to Spain.

Before handing over the cheque which equivalent to Le32.7 million, Africell's head of event and sponsorship, Arthur Kallon said supporting the single leg football team is no a difficult assignment for them as they've done several times in the past. He said: "In Africell we are committed in reaching our target, if we are supporting the two legged football in the country we see no reason why we should not support the single legged. This is not the first and will not be the end of our commitment to supporting sports in the country. We will continue to do more."

Photo by Fiona Aboud

President of the Amputee Sports Club, who also doubles as the team's goalkeeper, Jabati Mambu said he was pleased with the response from Africell, adding that this was not the first time the company has come to their aid.

He said: "Since we started this club in 2001, Africell has been our lead supporter. We thank them for this and will continue to pay them back, which is our obligation."According to Mambu, despite getting less support from Sierra Leoneans, the team has achieved and will continue to achieve lots of excellence internationally.

Before their departure yesterday with a 14-man delegation, the team's public relations officer, Albert Mustapha said their trip to Spain came after they received an invitation from three different sporting bodies from the European nation, including One Goal Association, NGO Esport Solidari International in collaboration with the Spanish Ministry of Sports and other sporting associations in that country.

He said during their stay, the team will participate in a tour of promotion for peace and sports in Barcelona, Burgos and Cadiz cities.