By Vision Reporter
and Agencies

ALMOST 100 African sports journalists have enrolled in the second phase of a training programme run by the AFP Foundation and sponsored by football’s world governing body FIFA which kicked off yesterday.

Over two weeks, five-day workshops for reporters and photographers from all over the continent will be held in Dakar, Maputo, Nairobi and Rabat. Week-long follow-up sessions will take place in late April.

New Vision photographers Samson Opus, Michael Nsubuga, Ronald Kabuubi and writers Fred Kaweesi, Norman Katende, Paul Wazemba, David Kibanga, Andrew Kabuura, Denis Dibele and Swalley Kenyi will also attend.

The courses are part of the “Win in Africa with Africa” development initiative launched by FIFA after South Africa was chosen to host the 2010 World Cup.

More than 160 African journalists took part in the first phase of the programme last year.

“It is always rewarding to see exciting new concepts come to fruition,” FIFA President Joseph Blatter said at the weekend.

“Thanks to our partnership with the AFP Foundation, FIFA’s ‘Win in Africa with Africa’ project has enabled nearly 300 media people from the length and breadth of Africa to be trained on high quality journalism courses during the past 12 months,” he added in a statement released in Zurich.

“Since the awarding of the 2010 World Cup to South Africa in 2004, FIFA has endeavoured to ensure this tournament leaves a lasting legacy across the African continent.

“Once again, this project demonstrates how football is more than just a game, harnessing the huge interest for the forthcoming World Cup to ensure young, aspiring journalists have the latest tools to support their career path long after 2010,” Blatter said.

AFP Foundation Director Robert Holloway was grateful for FIFA’s sponsorship.

“This ambitious programme aims to enhance the professional skills of young African reporters and photographers so that they can pass on their knowledge to others and become tomorrow’s trainers,” he said.