Germany Provides 800 Soccer Balls to Support Young Players

German Ambassador Dr. Knoop handed over a donation of 800 soccer balls to the Vice Minister of Youth and Sports, Abdisa Yadeta in the Addis Ababa Stadium on Sunday to support young Ethiopian soccer players.

The soccer balls have been made available by the German Chapter of the World University Service in cooperation with the Association of Ethiopians Educated in Germany, the Embassy here said in a statement.

The German Federal Foreign Office provided the funds for the donation, it said adding that the handover ceremony took place just before the World Cup qualifying match Ethiopia vs. Rwanda.

A friendly game of a German school selection against Ethiopian students followed the official match.

At the handover ceremony, German Ambassador Dr. Knoop remarked: "I wish that the German support for young Ethiopian soccer players may help to train promising young talents who may in future make it to the national team. And of course, I hope that the Ethiopian national team will qualify for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa." The Ministry of Youth and Sports in cooperation with the Ethiopian Football Federation will distribute the balls to youth soccer projects all over Ethiopia, the embassy added.

Soccer is the most popular sport in Germany. With a total of 26,000 clubs and 170,000 teams the German Soccer Association (DFB) is one of the largest member organizations with in FIFA. The biggest successes of the German national team are three World Cup titles (1954, 1974, 1990) and winning three European Championships (1972, 1980, 1996). The DFB women won their first World Cup title in the USA in 2003 and added their second 2007 in China. Other achievements include winning six European Championships (1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005).