Finals fever grips African hopefuls

source: Reuters | May 23, 06 | submitted by Daniel

Ivory Coast - From young boys kicking bundles of rags around slums to the highest politicians, soccer is cutting through all social boundaries. Togo declared a national holiday after its team qualified. Ivory Coast's President Laurent Gbagbo gave each player a villa.

Even so, qualification has lifted spirits in violence-plagued Angola, Ivory Coast and Togo. Better known for a 27-year civil war which killed some one million people and destroyed much of the infrastructure, Angola is now basking in a warm glow.

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Almost every conversation about Angola's future includes soccer. "If we can do it in football, we can do it in other areas of life,"... "It makes me very optimistic about the future."- Cornelio Caley, Teacher at Luanda's Agostinho Neto University
Things are different now. The country isn't there yet but qualifying has reunited people a bit,"- Vincent Koffi

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Message: Finals fever grips African hopefuls From young boys kicking bundles of rags around slums to the highest politicians, soccer is cutting through all social boundaries. Togo declared a national holiday after its team qualified. Ivory Coast's President Laurent Gbagbo gave each player a villa. Even so, qualification has lifted spirits in violence-plagued Angola, Ivory Coast and Togo. Better known for a 27-year civil war which killed some one million people and destroyed much of the infrastructure, Angola is now basking in a warm glow. Almost every conversation about Angola's future includes soccer. "If we can do it in football, we can do it in other areas of life,"... "It makes me very optimistic about the future." - Cornelio Caley, Teacher at Luanda's Agostinho Neto University Things are different now. The country isn't there yet but qualifying has reunited people a bit," - Vincent Koffi Link to Article: http://www.greatnewsnetwork.org/index.php/news/article/finals_fever_grips_african_hopefuls/ -------------------- The Great News Network is a daily news center that features only positive and inspirational news stories on world events, the environment, science, health, and business. http://www.greatnewsnetwork.org "An Oasis for Optimists" submit the word you see below:

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