Togolese born soccer star Emmanuel
Adebayor on Friday night launched his Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor (SEA) Foundation
at his plush Trasacco Valley mansion with the promise
to harness all the resources and goodwill at his disposal to make a change in
Africa for the better.
The heavily attended launch that came with the finest Pomp and pageantry had an array of celebrities made
up of players of the Black Stars, boxers, musicians, chiefs and king makers of
the Ga state, the national chief Iman and members of the diplomatic corps as
well as the media.
The
spacious ambience which was littered with a fleet of the finest automobiles around
could have passed for an automobile showpiece but for the theme of the event.
Nickname "Baby Kanu" due to his resemblance to
former Nigerian soccer star Nwankwo
Kanu, whom Adebayor had idolised as a youth, the on-loan Tottenham Hotspur striker from
Manchester City dressed in a brown suit over a purple shirt and tie with a brown
Christian
Louboutin Tasselissimo Suede Shoes to match, while popping Champagne to signify the
outdooring, recounted how he met a little boy outside his house crying after
the loss of his mother and later his father as well which saddened him so much
to that he decided to take custody of the boy and his siblings, to cater for
them.
“The event of that day has had
massive influence on me till date and has pushed me to open my doors to support
the poor and needy in society where
he can with the little I have.”
With the mantra “changing
lives”, the mission of SEA he revealed is to assist the destitute in society to
survive, to transcend and enhance their lives for the better as well as helping
people across a wide spectrum of life in terms of education, health, career and
social life as well.
The SEA Foundation which has
been in building up for the pass six year has on the quiet
been supporting the poor and needy across the continent, the foundation in September
last year went on a “tour
of hope” campaign which saw Adebayor meeting the
chiefs and people of Sokode in the northern part of Togo making them have their
fair share of his magnanimity as he
donated thousands of dollars towards the enhancement of infrastructure and
purchase of equipment for the Lycee de Sokode plus a truck full of medications
to two under-funded hospitals in the same township.
Before that the Foundation
in July built a couple of boreholes in Hamile and Koro in the Upper West region
of Ghana to help solve the serious water problem affecting the area and later travelled
to Kumasi to meet Asantehene before participating in a workshop on “education
and sports, books and boots at the Prempeh Assembly hall and a soccer clinic
with the Kumasi Senior Secondary School students.
He called on all
to join forces with the S.E.A Foundation so that the mission that the
foundation has set put smiles on the faces of the disenfranchised and to ensure
that the youth who are the future leaders have a solid and sound foundation to
build on is achieved.
On his part business manager of
the player Mr. Terrence Eben said his client for the past six and more has
single handedly support and brought joy onto the heart and faces of thousands
of kids, parents and communities across the continent, which was borne out of
his desire to see a suffering free society.
“The foundations arms are widely opened to any institution, corporate bodies and individual who
believes in the ideologies of the S.E.A Foundation to come on board and
contribute generously in whatever way to help the changing lives dreams of
Adebayor live forever”, he added.
The Foundation to the
opportunity to honour deserving personalities who have in diverse ways helped
shape the life of the 2008 African player of the year and the Foundation with
Ghana Football Association (GFA) boss Kwasi Nyantakyi, ex Ghana international
Nii Odartey Lamptey, Foussena Leila
Djagba, Adebayor’s communication director, GFA communications director Ibrahim
Sannie-Daara
and Terrence Eben , Adebayor’s business manager.
The rest are Mozino
Agui, Adebayor’s childhood friend, Blaise Amedodji, sports journalist from Togo
and the Adebayor Supporters Union.
On Saturday at the Labadi Beach where Adebayor led a select side
including Togolese international Frank Atsu, Black Stars player Prince Tagoe
and Comedian Funny Face to beat a selected media side 4-3 on penalties after a
7-7 regulation time results in a beach soccer match.
The 3-day programme ended Sunday
night at his Trasacco Valley Mansion with a pool party combined with some indoor and outdoor
sporting activities including badmintion, table tennis, sack race etc with winner
walking away with some exciting prizes from the player.
