President Paul Kagame on Friday, December 26, said football can be used to promote peace globally and in the region.

He made the remarks as he joined FIFA President Gianni Infantino and more than 200 boys and girls from various football academies for a holiday football clinic at Amahoro Stadium. Each child received a football through FIFA’s Football for Schools programme, launched in Kigali in 2023 to support youth development through sport.

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Speaking at the event, Kagame said football brings many benefits to people, especially young people from different backgrounds, and highlighted its role in promoting peace. He thanked Infantino for using the sport to bring people together.

"He (Infantino) has been very emphatic; he&039;s been very strong about it. He uses football to bring people together for peace,” he said, referring to Amahoro Stadium, whose name means peace.

"This is the right place to use football to actually deliver peace. We don't have enough peace in our region. But he (Infantino) has been using football to contribute to bringing peace to our region and beyond,” he said, adding that football also develops talent, skills and teamwork.

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"So, whenever you are playing football, with all the talent you have, you always remember you are part of a team. There is a team somewhere that you are part of. So, you are using your talent to deliver results on the football field, but at the same time, you remember you are linked to other people, other individuals on the field, and therefore you build a team,” he noted.

Infantino congratulated Rwanda for building a state-of-the-art stadium, saying he was happy and proud to be in the country as Christmas was celebrated.

"Today we are, of course, distributing 1,000 balls. We will, and I can confirm this here, we will build the additional 20 FIFA arenas and 20 schools around the country – these beautiful mini pitches,” he said.

"We will continue with all our projects for you, for the children of this beautiful country,” he added.

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He encouraged the youngsters to dream, telling them they could become the next Messi, Ronaldo, Samuel Eto&039;o or Didier Drogba.

"But for sure, you will become a better person, a better human being, because you learn a lot when you play football. You learn respect, you learn to be together, to play as a team, to win as a team, to lose as a team. But after every defeat, you stand up and you go to win again the next match,” he noted.

Sports minister Nelly Mukazayire thanked Infantino for the support extended to football development in Rwanda.

"Through FIFA Forward, Rwanda has acquired four football pitches: one in Kigali, Rubavu, Rutsiro and Gicumbi," she said.