Israeli Embassy donates sports kits to TKC Handball Club, sports academy.

The donation which seeks to boost the development young football talents in the country, was publicly presented during a ceremony held in Yaounde Tuesday.

It was the Ambassador of Israel to Cameroon, His Excellency Amnon Kalmar, who handed the items to the officials of sports academy. 

The kits were symbolically received by global football legend, Albert Roger Milla, who sits atop TKC Handball Club.

The donation, it was disclosed, was part of a longstanding relationship between Israel and the Roger Milla Foundation, an initiative of Albert Roger Milla. The items donated included amongst others several balls, jerseys and boots.

Speaking shortly after handing the important donation, Ambassador Amnon Kalmar said the promotion of sports is at the centre of relations between Cameroon and his country.

The senior diplomat explained that: “Sports is a great opportunity to cooperate and promote good relation between two countries. We arranged this event together Ambassador Roger Milla. For us, it is a very nice opportunity”.

Quizzed on why the partnership with the Roger Milla Foundation, the diplomat was explicit.

He said: “Because Roger Milla is the biggest soccer player in the world. Everybody knows him here in Cameroon and around the world. He is the face of football and an inspiration for young children”.

Earlier, Roger Milla who is also Cameroon’s Roving Ambassador, thanked Israel for the support.

He said the donation was not only timely but will go a long way in helping TKC Handball Club maintain its lead position. The club, he told his audience just emerged champions of the Handball Cup of Cameroon.

The Israel Embassy and the Roger Milla Foundation, it should be said, enjoy a long and solid friendly relationship. 

Marked by the remarkable work of international football legend and Cameroon's Roving Ambassador, Roger Milla, the Israeli Embassy has always sought to develop the potential of the cooperation and to promote the ideals and values defended by ‘‘Coeur d’Afrique’’ Foundation. 

Several cooperation initiatives have been carried out between the two institutions. Such initiatives include an official visit in August 2017 of Roger Milla to Israel. He was received as an official guest of the State of Israel. 

The Roving Ambassador had met Israeli officials, visited the Israeli Football Federation, sports training Centres, schools, disability Programs, and the Holocaust Museum (Yad Vashem). 

During the visit, he was able to initiate partnerships and make contacts that are beneficial to his Foundation.

In 2018, in partnership with the Roger Milla Foundation, the Israeli Embassy donated small business equipment to the Centre des Femmes Handicapées de Rue Manguiers, Yaoundé.

The equipment included sewing machines, computers, wheelchairs and refrigerators.

Also, in the field of humanitarian work, the Israeli Embassy and the Roger Milla Foundation handed-over a large donation of medicines to the Chantal Biya Foundation's sickle cell ward. 

The donation together with Roger Milla Foundation of sports equipment to TKC Handball Club, it was said, is a continuation of the long and rich cooperation between the Israeli Embassy and the Roger Milla Foundation. 

“In the current context of tension in the Middle East, where Israel's existence is threatened by the terrorist groups, Hezbollah in Lebanon, ISIS in Iran and Houthis in Yemen, it is more important than ever to remember that Israel's aim is to seek and promote peace in relations at a global level,” the embassy said in a statement.

Over 109 Israeli hostages, including women and children, are currently being held captive by Hamas in Gaza. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3220 of Thursday, September 5, 2024