Nigeria, Ghana skate soccer fiesta gets date

The first International Skate Soccer Fiesta played by physically challenged athletes from Nigeria and Ghana will take place at the Independence Square in Accra, Ghana on March 19, the organizers disclosed.
The competition, which is organized by the International Federation for Skate Soccer, (IFSS) is being sponsored by Binatone, a household electronic appliances manufacturer as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.
An inaugural event of the IFSS competition had taken place at La Pleasure Beach in Accra on January 15 with a team from Accra against another from the Ashanti region in Ghana. The match attracted a sell out crowd.
As a follow-up to the success of that match, IFSS and Binatone were organizing a game that will evoke the age-old soccer rivalry between the two West African countries of Nigeria and Ghana.
The match had already got a big boost, courtesy of Super Sports that had pledged to cover it.
The sport and the non-profit IFSS were created to bring together the physically challenged with a core focus on Polio sufferers who have no ability to walk and who usually beg for alms. The benefit that IFSS hopes to bring to these individuals is food, shelter and help in finding a steady job.
Binatone’s Group Managing Director, Mr Sunil Lalvani, said his company is supporting Skate Soccer with IFSS since it was an excellent way for the company to give back to the society.
“The cause is more than worthy, and the approach taken by IFSS also makes it a sustainable one over a long term. The organization not only works to give the players (and other non-playing Polio sufferers) a proper livelihood, but by taking them off the streets, they regain their dignity,” Lalvani said.