Event: “Serge Betsen Academy inter-centre rugby tournament – Societe Generale Cameroun”, third edition.

We are delighted to announce that the third edition of the “Tournoi de rugby inter-centres Serge Betsen academy Société Générale Cameroun” (Serge Betsen Academy – Societe Generale Cameroon inter-centre rugby tournament) will take place on Saturday 30 October in Bangangté, Cameroon.

Due to the pandemic, this tournament initially planned for 2020 had to be postponed, thus leaving more time for the Etoudi, Zoétélé and Bangangté teams to get game-ready. The shield, which has been held by Etoudi since 2018, will be put back into play, and the teams just can’t wait!

This year, we are honoured to have Société Générale Cameroun by our side as the Title Sponsor of the Tournament. We would like to warmly thank them for their generous support.

Three companies and one association have also agreed to sponsor us for this tournament which is very close to the heart of our young rugby players: : Groupe SABC whom we thank for their drinks during the Tournament, Cameroon Motors Industries (CAMI)AXA Cameroun whom we thank for the food during the Tournament and Recycling Rugby, the French operation which recycles rugby balls into bags, purses…  It is a pleasure to see the enthusiasm of companies, established for many years on the red soil, for rugby and our actions in favour of underprivileged children.

A big thank you to our five Sponsors for their support without which this edition could not have been organised.

We therefore give you an appointment on Saturday 30 October to support our rugby players at the Lycée Classique of Bangangté stadium or online, on our social networks!

 

Translation: Katy Birge-Wilson

Event: A recognition from The French Development Agency at the New Africa-France Summit

The Serge Betsen Academy (SBA) had the honor of attending the New Africa-France 2021 Summit on Friday further to an invitation from the French government (Elysée) and The French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement).

This recognition at the highest level is the result of several months of work, and of a success story in Cameroon for 17 years and in Mali for almost 2 years. The support of The French Development Agency offers an exceptional support to the Serge Betsen Academy in terms of growth and to the well-being of girls and boys in Cameroon and Mali.

The children of the SBA, Odile Prévot, CEO of the charity and all the other volunteers join Serge Betsen, Founding President of the Serge Betsen Academy and Sébastien Lovy, Treasurer of the  charity who both had the privilege of speaking at the New Africa-France Summit, in thanking French President Emmanuel Macron, The French Development Agency and Sport en Commun for their support and investment.

 

Le Président Emmanuel Macron et Serge Betsen

Serge Betsen, Sébastien Lovy et Didier RetièreOdile et les enfants de la SBA

 

Mali: Donated rugby gear safely arrived in Mali thanks to HAE Group

In October, three different mails of donations transported by our dear partner HAE Group  have been sent to the SBA Mali centre. Our SBA Mali children have received 162 pairs of rugby boots, 106 pairs of sliders but also 20 other pairs of shoes, 2 jumpers and and a pair of trousers.

A huge thank you to Neville Karai and the HAE Group for covering the cost of transportation of this athletic gear and for organizing the shipments with the help of Odile Prevot, our CEO.

A huge thank you to Jamie Forrester of Opus Recruitment Solutions for his beautiful donation of 162 pairs of rugby boots.

The 106 pairs of lovely sliders have been kindly donated by Slide Tribe UK. We feel very grateful to Tom Hassan, Founder and Owner at Slide Tribe for this generous donation.

Regarding the 20 pairs of shoes, the 2 jumpers and and the pair of trousers, they have been collected by Dan Soso, a rugby coach at Maryland Exiles Youth Rugby in the US. We would like to thank all the young rugby players of this club for taking part in this collection.

The first shipment arrived in Bamako and the kids were overjoyed to discover their amazing rugby boots donated by Jamie Forrester! A distribution was organized on 17 October by the volunteers of our centre on the occasion of the Prophet’s birthday, a celebration that is very important in this country where Islam is prevailing.

The team of HAE has been providing us ongoing support and we would like to thank them deeply for their help and flexibility.

 

Donation HAE Group to SBA Mali

The 162 pairs of rugby boots transported by HAE Group

The 162 pairs of rugby boots transported by HAE Group

 

The donation of 106 pair of sliders by Slide Tribe

The donation of 106 pair of sliders by Slide Tribe

 

Donation HAE Group to SBA Mali

Donation HAE Group to SBA Mali

 

The SBA Mali children trying their new rugby boots

The SBA Mali children trying their new rugby boots donated by Jamie Forrester

Children trying their new rugby boots

The Sliders safely arrived in Bamako

Maryland Exiles Youth Rugby wishes much success to all of the student athletes at the Serge Betsen Academy

The young players of the Maryland Exiles Youth Rugby who have collected rugby gear for our children