Unified Football for inclusion : Last Thursday the President of the Ghana Football Association Kurt Edwin Simeon – Okraku was in Akropong in the Eastern region to speak at the “Unified Football for Inclusion” program organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Mr. Kurt Okraku was on one of the keynote speakers at the program that took place at the Akropong school for the blind. The GFA boss particularly used his personal story to motivate the differently abled students and youth who were gathered at the event.
Unified Football for inclusion : Read the full speech of Kurt Okraku reproduced below :
I am very delighted to join hands with UNICEF and the Ghana Education Services to participate in today’s all-important event.
Indeed , I am an advocate for youth in sports with a special bias to football and it gives me joy to see children engage in friendly competition with each other , whether on football pitches or whatever the dream fits to play.
This applies to all children , regardless of their physical composition , abed or disabled. The students of the Akropong school for the blind are indeed no exception.
I also believe this vision is something we have in common and can be found in the heart , and it is through vision that all of us achieve greatness and strives for a brighter future.
I recall a time when I envisaged being the President of our dear Football Association through determination and the guidance of the Almighty , I realized this dream.
This is one of such examples of instances I have faced in my lifetime. It has been through having a clear vision of who I want to become and where I wanted to be in the future that I have the opportunity to address all of you today. All of us here can do same and even more.
Ghana qualified for the World Cup after beating Nigeria on one of the most challenging World Cup qualifying matches this year. Today , I’m here to witness our own version of our special world cup. We should remind ourselves to give opportunities to precious students at this school and others in society at every chance we get.
I am indeed encouraged by the activities that students have participated in and what we are going to witness here today. Social inclusion of all people in society make for a stronger community of people.
I will urge each one of us to have a clear vision , believe in ourselves and have passion to pursue our dreams , because disability and indeed , together we can arrive at our individual and collective destination in terms of aspirations and our dreams.
Through the big effort of the very hard-working Anne-Claire , I am excited to be here. Today will not be the last time I will visit this school , at every given opportunity when I am invited by the leadership of this school , I will be here to join you.
It is important for all of us to come together to create such platforms for every kid to realize his or her dream and I am committed towards this vision. I stand here representing football, today we are going to have our version of the world cup through the kind courtesy of UNICEF , the Ghana Education Service and all of us.
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