Today at Amahoro Stadium, President Paul Kagame joined FIFA President Gianni Infantino and over 200 boys and girls from football academies for a festive holiday football clinic, celebrating youth development and the unifying power of sport.
Each child received a football through FIFA’s Football for Schools programme, launched in Kigali in 2023 to promote education, life skills, and teamwork through football.
Speaking to the young athletes, President Kagame emphasized that football is more than individual skill.
“Individual skill and knowledge are not enough if they do not benefit the team. Everyone brings their abilities to build the team, and when the team wins, it is a collective victory,” he said.
Kagame also highlighted the broader social impact of football, praising FIFA President Infantino for using the sport to unite communities and promote peace.
“The President of FIFA has explained well the good things football delivers to people, especially young people, of all backgrounds,” Kagame said. “But there is something else he didn’t mention: he uses football to bring people together for peace, amahoro. This stadium is called Amahoro Stadium, so this is the right place to use football to actually deliver peace. You know, we don’t have enough peace in our region, but he has been using football to contribute to bringing peace in our region and beyond.”
The holiday clinic combined fun football drills, interaction, and lessons on teamwork and unity, bringing together children from diverse backgrounds in a spirit of celebration and learning.
Through initiatives like FIFA’s Football for Schools, Rwanda continues to leverage sport as a platform for youth empowerment, education, and peace—showing that the lessons learned on the pitch can extend far beyond the game.
