My Kind of President: A Sportsman & Footballer
Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:08 pm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6332797.stm
Burundi's footballing president
By John Nene
BBC News, Burundi
Pierre Nkurunziza
President Nkurunziza used to coach a team in Burundi's first division
Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza says he will always make time for football, despite the pressure and demands of managing a sensitive political transition in his war-wracked country.
The former rebel leader, who became president in 2005, has earned the nickname "East Africa's footballing president", such is his passion.
Indeed the sight of his solid frame hurtling around pitches in stadiums across the country is a familiar one.
Three days a week, the 42-year-old striker dons a football kit and joins his now popular team, Haleluya FC, for matches or training sessions.
At a recent friendly match between his team and students from Don Bosco Secondary School in Ngozi Province, chants of Haleluya! Haleluya! rent the air as supporters cheered the president's every touch of the ball or tackle.
Off-target
On this day, Mr Nkurunziza, failed to score and was tightly marked as his team were held to a 1-1 draw by the schoolboys.
After the closely fought contest, President Nkurunziza was relaxed, although breathing heavily.
If you play rough against him, he also plays the same
Ramadhan "Cameroon'' Juma
Team-mate
"The boys overpowered us. This time around, they played so well unlike when we beat them 3-1 sometime last year. I am still satisfied with the result,'' he said.
One of the president's cheerleaders expressed disappointment that he didn't get the right service.
"I was shouting myself hoarse, urging his team-mates to give him low passes because the president is very good with low balls.
"That way it is easy for him to score goals,'' Mama Hawa Binti Hamisi exclaimed soon after the final whistle was blown.
Belief
Some of his more enthusiastic supporters liken him to Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry for his prowess and energy during a match.
More realistically, his team-mates at Haleluya FC describe him as an honest, no-nonsense player both in training and in matches.
"He is a strong man and if you play rough against him, he also plays the same just to show how tough he is," said Ramadhan "Cameroon'' Juma.
"He is a down-to-earth team-mate," he said, adding quickly: "Of course we respect him a lot as our president".
So why the name - Haleluya FC?
"The name simply thanks God for what he has done for Burundi," says the president, who is a staunch Christian.
"In everything we do we have to remember it is because of him. And when fans watch us playing in jerseys emblazoned with the word Haleluya, there is no doubt in them that this is a God-fearing nation,'' he says.
Football has always been his favourite sport, and after graduating from the University of Burundi, he became a physical education lecturer.
He then went on play in Division One and coach at one of Burundi's top teams, Union Sporting.
Tension between the Tutsi and Hutu communities has plagued Burundi since independence in 1961, but after years of civil war the leadership in Burundi is striving to heal the wounds, under President Nkurunziza, a Hutu.
His love for football may even help, for the game is one past-time, in this poor and densely-populated nation, that cuts across tribal divisions.
Burundi's footballing president
By John Nene
BBC News, Burundi
Pierre Nkurunziza
President Nkurunziza used to coach a team in Burundi's first division
Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza says he will always make time for football, despite the pressure and demands of managing a sensitive political transition in his war-wracked country.
The former rebel leader, who became president in 2005, has earned the nickname "East Africa's footballing president", such is his passion.
Indeed the sight of his solid frame hurtling around pitches in stadiums across the country is a familiar one.
Three days a week, the 42-year-old striker dons a football kit and joins his now popular team, Haleluya FC, for matches or training sessions.
At a recent friendly match between his team and students from Don Bosco Secondary School in Ngozi Province, chants of Haleluya! Haleluya! rent the air as supporters cheered the president's every touch of the ball or tackle.
Off-target
On this day, Mr Nkurunziza, failed to score and was tightly marked as his team were held to a 1-1 draw by the schoolboys.
After the closely fought contest, President Nkurunziza was relaxed, although breathing heavily.
If you play rough against him, he also plays the same
Ramadhan "Cameroon'' Juma
Team-mate
"The boys overpowered us. This time around, they played so well unlike when we beat them 3-1 sometime last year. I am still satisfied with the result,'' he said.
One of the president's cheerleaders expressed disappointment that he didn't get the right service.
"I was shouting myself hoarse, urging his team-mates to give him low passes because the president is very good with low balls.
"That way it is easy for him to score goals,'' Mama Hawa Binti Hamisi exclaimed soon after the final whistle was blown.
Belief
Some of his more enthusiastic supporters liken him to Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry for his prowess and energy during a match.
More realistically, his team-mates at Haleluya FC describe him as an honest, no-nonsense player both in training and in matches.
"He is a strong man and if you play rough against him, he also plays the same just to show how tough he is," said Ramadhan "Cameroon'' Juma.
"He is a down-to-earth team-mate," he said, adding quickly: "Of course we respect him a lot as our president".
So why the name - Haleluya FC?
"The name simply thanks God for what he has done for Burundi," says the president, who is a staunch Christian.
"In everything we do we have to remember it is because of him. And when fans watch us playing in jerseys emblazoned with the word Haleluya, there is no doubt in them that this is a God-fearing nation,'' he says.
Football has always been his favourite sport, and after graduating from the University of Burundi, he became a physical education lecturer.
He then went on play in Division One and coach at one of Burundi's top teams, Union Sporting.
Tension between the Tutsi and Hutu communities has plagued Burundi since independence in 1961, but after years of civil war the leadership in Burundi is striving to heal the wounds, under President Nkurunziza, a Hutu.
His love for football may even help, for the game is one past-time, in this poor and densely-populated nation, that cuts across tribal divisions.
