Somali-Italian NOCs meeting yields positive results
A high level delegation from Somali National Olympic committee under the leadership of President Aden Hajji Yeberow on Tuesday visited the Italian National Olympic committee headquarters in Rome, where they held a lengthy meeting with the Italian Olympic committee president Giovanni Petrucci and his Raffaele Pagnozzi.
Somali NOC president Aden Hajji Yeberow told reporters that during the meeting both sides raised issues including the creation of a strong and bilateral co-operative relations between the Somali Olympic committee and that of Italia.
The presidnet said that the Somali NOC delegation went to Italy under the invitation from Italian Olympic committee in a bid to restablish and strengthen relations between both sporting organizations.
“The president of Italian Olympic committee Mr. Giovanni Petrucci told us that he was very admired at how the Somali NOC operates in such chaotic country for more than two decades and on behalf of Somali NOC I praised the Italian NOC presidnet and his secretary general for the huge welcome and the friendly receiption they gave us” president Aden Hajji Yeberow said in a via phone press conference for the local Somali media today Wednesday.
Somali NOC first vice president and head of international relations Duran Ahmed Farah for his part said that a new rera of great co-operation emerged for both Olympic committees.
“Somalia and Italia had an age-old co-operative history and we as the Somali NOC want to be the pioneer of the rebuilding of the relationship between both people and Olympic committees” the Somali National Olympic committee first vice president told the media.
He said that the Italian Olympic committee promised to assist Somalia in terms of trainings and the enhancement of sports education. “The warm welcome we received during our stay at the Italian Olympic committee headquarters was very mentionable” the first vice president said during the press conference on Wednesday.
Somalia had a long existing relationship with Italia who once colonized the horn of African country and Italy’s Olympic committee known in the Italian language {Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano “CONI”} ws the fisrt to build an international style soccer stadium for Somalia.
The facility ‘stadioum Coni’ was named after the {Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano “CONI”} which built it for Somalia just nearly 50 years ago. The Coni stadium was launched in 1956 and the first match it hosted was between a team from the Italian community in Somalia at that time and theSomali National soccer team according to Hajji Mohamed Ahmed Olow who is currently Somali Bocing federation president and member of Somali NOC executive committee.
Olow became the top goal scorer of Banadir regional district footballcompetition in 1963 and in 1974 he was the first Somali basketball referee to become international referee. The current Somali NOPC president AdenHajji Yeberow was also the seocnd to become international baskedball referee the folowing year.
By Shafi’i Mohyadin Abokar
