Angolan President João Lourenço said this Thursday that he wants a new dynamic in sports and asked the new sectoral minister to pay special attention to the maintenance of sports infrastructure, training and school sports.
Speaking today at the inauguration ceremony of the new Minister of Youth and Sports of Angola, Rui Falcão Pinto de Andrade, João Lourenço noted that culture and sport are important for the life of any people and nation, hence the goal of a new dynamic in sport.
“We have just made this change and we entrust you with this responsibility of looking after, on the one hand, the youth, but also the sport,” he told the new portfolio holder, appointed on Wednesday to replace Palmira Barbosa.
Regarding the sports sector, the Angolan head of state wants “special attention” to be paid to the maintenance of sports infrastructure, training and, what he considers “very important”, school sports.
“Try to collaborate with your colleague, the Minister of Education, to better organize school sports, which will ultimately become the breeding ground for the sports federation,” he asked Rui Falcão Pinto de Andrade.
João Lourenço expressed hope for good sporting results in the coming years, saying the next challenge is the participation of the main football team in the African Cup of Nations (CAN), “for which we need to prepare now”, aiming for results that surpass the country’s presence at the recently concluded CAN 2023 in Ivory Coast.
Angolan football team Palancas Negras were eliminated from the CAN quarter-finals after recording a record three straight wins in the competition.
Joao Lourenço, who wished the new head of the ministry success, also expressed the desire for the country to “regain the splendor” that it achieved in past years in some sports, namely basketball.
He also advocated maintaining high quality in handball, especially women’s, “without detracting from other sports that fortunately have also (…) brought joy” to Angolans, he concluded.
The Minister of Youth and Sports promised to conduct a study of the real situation in Angolan sports in its various aspects, taking school sports and federated sports as a starting point.
“But also in the area of youth [vamos] work with associations to add further momentum to this growth process. Children’s sports need to be revived and we will find ways to give the national sport a new dynamic,” said Ruy Falcán Pinto de Andrade.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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