Africa-Press – Cape verde. The former midfielder, born in Boa Entrada, in the interior of Santiago, Gelson Fernandes, was appointed by FIFA to the position of Director of the Federations of Africa. The athlete, who represented the Swiss national team, assumes the new role on August 1, 2022.
He will be responsible for overseeing services to strengthen the development of African federations, through the Forward Program, according to Sportsmídia.
Currently, the former footballer is vice president of Sion Switzerland, the club where he trained. “We are delighted to have Gelson joining the FIFA team,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“Gelson has had a fantastic career as a football player, and the experience he gained will be important to carry out his tasks in the best possible way. I have no doubt that he will do an excellent job for us and we welcome him to our team,” he added.
During his career, Gelson represented the clubs, Sion (Switzerland), Manchester City, Leicester City (England), Saint-Étienne, Stade Rennes (France), Chievo Verona, Udinese (Italy), Sporting (Portugal), Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt. (Germany).
He played 67 games for Switzerland and scored twice, memorably scoring the only goal of the match as Switzerland beat eventual world champions Spain 1-0 at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. South.
Proud
“It is a great honor and I am very proud to join FIFA,” said Fernandes, in turn.
“I’m an African and if you get an offer like that, you should do it because it’s a way to give something back to Africa as an African. I see it as my obligation to work for Africa and its football. This mission that I will start in August includes all aspects around my roots and this continent, showing my gratitude and support and giving my all for African football”, he indicated.
The continent, as he said, has incredible potential, so it will give everything to carry out the new functions and the great challenge that lies ahead.
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