Azimio la Umoja - One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga on Sunday, November 20, rooted for the five football teams representing the African continent in the FIFA World Cup competitions this year.
The African Union special envoy said he hopes the teams comprising Ghana, Cameroon, Senegal, Morocco and Tunisia reach the finals in the competitions set to kick off in Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Sunday night.
Raila, a big fan of football, promised to fly to Qatar to watch the games live if an African team makes it to the semis.
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"These are all strong teams. We begin by saying we are supporting the African teams. We hope and wish that this time, our teams go beyond Group of 16 to Group of 8 then semi-finials. For the first time, I want to see an African team in the finals," Raila said.
"If an African team is in the finals I will go to Qatar for the seminal finals and finals. So the continent is very expectant. We want to show that African soccer has come of age and we can beat the world."
Raila's love for Indomitable Lions
He disclosed that his preferred team is Cameroon, also known as the Indomitable Lions, but said he will be happy if any of the African teams succeeded in the competitions.
"The oldest that has been there is the Indomitable Lions so I would like to see the Indomitable Lions roar. But then we have the Lions of Terenga (Senega), the Black Stars (Ghana) and the Atlas," he stated.
"After the African teams have lost we usually revert back to Germany and Brazil. France will also come in because it's an African team."
Hosts Qatar will take on Ecuador in Group A on Sunday, marking the beginning of almost an entire month of international football, with the World Cup final set to take place on 18 December.
Free viewing
Last month, AFS International in partnership with FIFA announced the launch of the official FIFA-branded public viewing events of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
In collaboration with Mediamax Network Limited and Radio Africa Group, AFS said it will organize and promote the public viewings scheduled to run from November 20 to December 18, 2022, the period the entire tournament will be staged in Qatar.
This will entail the screening of 28 World Cup matches in seven Fan Parks across the country.
The screening will take place in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu Eldoret, Meru and Machakos amongst other cities and towns.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 Fan Parks will have huge screens, and world-class sound systems, enabling viewers in the respective venues to see and enjoy the games.
"This is the first time FIFA has granted these rights in Kenya. We are excited to partner with Kenya's leading media networks - Radio Africa and Mediamax Network to deliver a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Kenya," Andrea Silva, Chairman of AFS International based in Switzerland said.
