SLeone hosts Africa's first amputees soccer tournament

Friday, February 09, 2007 13:38:19
FREETOWN, Feb 9, 2007 (AFP)

Sierra Leone is from Friday hosting Africa's first ever continental football tournament for single-legged amputees, organisers said. Teams from Angola, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, will take part in the five-day Amputee African Nations Cup, Albert Mustapha, spokesman for the Single-Legged Amputee Sports Club of Sierra Leone told AFP. The tournament which ends on Wednesday, kicks off with Sierra Leone playing against Nigeria. "The tournament is to bring the entire amputees together and also peace in states affected by wars," said Mustapha of the games sponsored by the world soccer governing body FIFA. Most of the players from Angola, Liberia and Sierra Leone are victims of the brutal civil wars in their respective countries in which thousands lost limbs and other body parts to landmines or bullets. Some of those from Sierra Leone had limbs their hacked by rebel groups. Officials said players from Ghana and Nigeria either lost limbs in accidents or were born without. Technical director of the Ghana players, Samuel Aidoo, said the tournament was "long overdue". Sierra Leone participated at World Cup single-leg soccer tournament in Brazil in 2005 where it came third, after England and Brazil. r

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