11 November 2008
Luanda — The Angolan President, José Eduardo dos Santos, was the first to be honoured on Monday during the gala dubbed "Glories of the Angolan Football", held at Tropical cinema, in Luanda, by the Organising Committee of the African Cup of Nations (COCAN) that the country will host in 2010.
José Eduardo dos Santos received a trophy from the director of the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic, Américo Garcia, at an event that aimed at recognised national entities that contributed for the development of the national sport from the 1950s to 1980s decades.
The President, who played as a striker, central defender and midfielder, was described as the number one sports fan and the first ambassador of the continental competition, which will be hosted in four cities of the country in January 2010.
FC de Luanda was the first club where the current Head of State played, and his sports contribution was recognised unanimously by those attending the gala at Tropical cinema.
Prominent figures also honoured at the ceremony were the speaker of the National Assembly, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos, striker of the former Atlético de Luanda club - 1963, then he played for C.P.P.A. sports club which is now called Interclube. The current Prime Minister, Paulo Kassoma was a midfielder at Clube Atlético de Luanda - present Petro Atlético de Luanda, from 1968 to 1974.
Justino Fernandes, right-wing defender of ASA - 1959, Eduardo Machado, striker of Petro de Luanda, Mambroa and 1º de Agosto, Mário Inácio de Abreu, attacking midfielder - Ferroviário do Namibe club in 1983, among other renowned personalities were also awarded prizes during the event.
Local musicians such as Elías Dya Kimuezo, Bangão and Zecax entertained the evening in which 131 former footballers of the decades of 1950, 1960, 1970 and 1980 were recognised for what they did for the development of the national sports.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Angola Press Agency. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
