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SLAVE TRADE ISLAND, GORÉE, TO HOST 2018 CAF AWARDS

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

This year’s CAF Awards will hold in Gorée Island, two kilometres off the Atlantic Ocean coast of Dakar the capital city of Senegal.  According to CAF, a delegation has already visited the island at the weekend.

 Gorée Island from the skies

The CAF Awards hold every year and football icons are recognised for their exploits in the year. The last edition was held in Accra Ghana early this year. The 2018 edition will hold on January 7, 2019.

Gorée Island is often recalled for its roles in the dark age of slavery in Africa as it served as one of the departure points of exporting slaves from Africa to the Americas.

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The slave house where slaves were kept before the ‘journey of no return’

The island has since become a tourist centre where relics of the past are shown to visitors.

The island however has a connection with football. Union Gorée, which plays in the top division of Senegalese league, is based on the island. The club eliminated Nigeria’s Raccah Rovers of Kano from the 1979 African champions’ league quarterfinals in an ill-tempered encounter.

The mayor of the island is Me Augustin Senghor who is also the president of Senegalese Football Federation and Vice President of the Local Organizing Committee of 2018 CAF Awards.

The CAF delegation to Gorée Island included Anthony Baffoe, CAF Deputy General Secretary, Nathalie Rabé, CAF Director of Communication and Hédi Hamel Advisor to President Ahmad.

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According to a CAF statement, CAF, FIFA and Senegalese Government guests are billed for this historic Island on January 7.

On the eve of the awards ceremony, there will also be a press conference of the three female player nominees, followed by the press conference of Ahmad, CAF President.

According to Hédi Hamel, what he saw in Gorée Island shows that the guests will spend unforgettable moments there. “They will discover a page of African history that is certainly not known enough, » he said, adding that he was particularly moved when he set foot on that land that has experienced the worst ill-treatment of human beings.

 

 

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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