PRESS RELEASE N0. 21/21ST AU SUMMIT

Sudan and Ethiopia gear-up for Commemorative Football Match to Mark OAU/AU 50th Anniversary

23 May 2013, Addis Ababa:On 25 May 2013, 50 years after the founding of the Organization of the African Unity (OAU), the eyes of the continent will once again be focused on the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, to witness a commemorative friendly football match between the hosts, Ethiopia and invited guests, Sudan at the National Stadium.

The significance of selecting the two Nations to battle it out for the commemorative trophy stems from the fact that the two were among the four founding members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the governing body of African football. The other two founding members are Egypt and South Africa.

Since 2010, the AU and CAF have been using sport as a tool for development and peace across the continent includingthrough the “Make Peace Happen Campaign.” This longstanding partnership was formalized on 14 June 2012, after the two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to use the universal appeal of football as a platform to advocate and promote social change in Africa. Earlier this year, the twoorganizations kicked off activities to commemoratethe OAU/AU 50th Anniversary celebrations during the opening ceremony of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in Johannesburg.

Among the key guests expected to attend the friendly football match are Issa Hayatou, President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko, AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Kuma Demeksa, Mayor of Addis Ababa, Amin Abdurrahman, Minister of Culture and Tourism of Ethiopia, Abdisa Yadeta, Ethiopian Commissioner for Sports, Mekonnen Addis, Chairman of the National Organizing Committee of the 50th Anniversary of the OAU/AU.

Saturday’s friendly football match, which is open to the public, is the flagship sports event for the celebrations among many others lined up across the continent to promote Pan Africanism and African Renaissance. These events also aim to rally the entire continent and diaspora behind a common unifying cause and towards setting a clear agenda for 2063 under the banner: ‘one Africa, for prosperity and peace.’