Luanda - The Minister of Youth and Sports (MINJUD), Rui Falcão, on Monday in the Province of Luanda called for maximum commitment from the National Football Team for amputees, with the aim of achieving the best result in the African Nations Championship, to be held from 18 to 29 this month in the city of Cairo, Egypt.
Speaking to the press at the ceremony to hand over the country's flag to the Angolan delegation for the continental event, at the Cidadela Stadium, the government official said that this is a top team, as it was the 2019 African Champion in Benguela and the 2018 World Champion in Mexico.
Rui Falcão said that he had great confidence in the team and therefore hoped for a positive result, raising the national flag higher.
In turn, the Chairman of the Angolan Paralympic Committee (CPA), Leonel da Rocha Pinto, stressed that it is a time of pressure for the athletes, adding that all conditions are created so that the players can regain the title, which was lost in 2021 in Tanzania.
He explained that given the level it has reached in the world, the national team is at the centre of attention to be beaten by both African and world teams and so Angola is expected to be determined and decisive, so that it can maintain the same level it has reached on the continent.
To him, the variety of pitches and gyms, as well as the facilities for friendly matches, will raise the competitive and emotional level of the Angolan national team, which has players playing in Turkish clubs.
However, the team who left today for a 15-day training camp in Türkiye, made its African debut in 2009, in Liberia, and finished third in 2021, in Tanzania.
In the African tournament, Angola is in group D with Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Rwanda.
The squad for the training camp in Türkiye includes goalkeepers Sebastião Canjiluca, Jesus Mateus, Ambrósio Chilala, attacking midfielders Laurindo Lucamba, José Cambanje, José João and spearhead Sabino Joaquim (Captain), as well as the defenders Paciência Félix, Francisco Amaro, Manuel Lingate, midfielders Lucas Fungula, Catarino de Carvalho, Jesus Morais and winger Heno Guilherme, Pedro Vicente and José Candeeiro.
JAD/VAB/MRA/jmc
