IVORY COAST: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Charity match features President Alassane Ouattara and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro in a game that hopes to raise money for the country's upcoming African Cup of Nations campaign

Record ID: 182141

  • Title: IVORY COAST: FOOTBALL/SOCCER - Charity match features President Alassane Ouattara and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro in a game that hopes to raise money for the country's upcoming African Cup of Nations campaign
  • Date: 6th January 2012
  • Summary: ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (JANUARY 5, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SECURITY AND POLICE IN FRONT OF ABIDJAN STADIUM VARIOUS OF UNITED NATIONS PICK-UP TRUCKS WITH UNITED NATIONS ARMED PERSONNEL MORE OF SECURITY, MOUNTED MACHINEGUN ON POLICE TRUCK VARIOUS OF INTERIOR STADIUM, DIDIER DROGBA WALKING SURROUNDED BY OFFICIALS AND JOURNALISTS, LOTS OF BATS SEEN IN SKY DROGBA SHAKING HANDS WITH PLAYERS FROM GOVERNMENT TEAM DRESSED IN ORANGE (IVORIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION TEAM DRESSED IN GREEN) IVORIAN PRIME MINISTER GUILLAUME SORO IN LINEUP WAITING TO SHAKE HANDS WITH DROGBA MORE OF DROGBA SHAKING HANDS WITH PLAYERS DROGBA WALKING IN FRONT OF CAMERA
  • Embargoed: 21st January 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cote d'Ivoire
  • Country: Ivory Coast
  • Topics: Quirky,Domestic Politics,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA1FXVIGMU644CTI3MA18JQHX2X
  • Story Text: Ivory Coast's politicians, including president Alassane Ouattara and prime minister Guillaume Soro - played in a soccer match on Thursday (January 5) to raise money for the country's African Cup of Nations Campaign.
    Ivory Coast take part in the 16-team tournament which begins on January 21 in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and proceeds from the match will help pay for the team to go to the competition.
    Last year, the country was thrown into civil war after disputed presidential elections, with Ouattara eventually taking power.
    Security on the streets of Abidjan is still heavy, and the United Nations have a strong presence in the capital as well.
    In the match, watched by Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba, Soro scored twice to give the politicians a 2-0 win over members of the nation's football federation.
    "The public has been absolutely extraordinary, it's for them that I put together this spectacle (show), I really applied myself in order to find the necessary resources," said Soro.
    "I always told you that I am a great football player, now I proved it on the field, there, I scored two goals, and it's what I also wish for the Elephants of Ivory Coast at the Cup of African Nations."
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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