The governor of the Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, watched the second semi-final of the FIFA World Cup. Following the match between France and Morocco, Nigerian Ambassador to Qatar, Yakubu Abdullahi Ahmed, hosted the Bayelsa State governor at a dinner in his residence in Doha.
On December 15, 2022, The President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, invited the senator of Bayelsa State to attend the Semi-final clash between France and Morocco. Talking about his experience of the semi-final, he took to share a post that read:
I seized the World Cup platform, where I watched the semi-final clash between the African team Morocco and France.
He informed his loyal audience in Nigeria through this post that while he was on the trip to Qatar, The Governor of the Bayelsa State got the chance to interface with FIFA President and other critical officials. The list of the officials included the likes of FIFA Secretary-General Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura and CAF President Patrice Motsepe.
Further, he added that Amaju Pinnick, former president of the NFF and current member of the FIFA Council, was also present during key meetings held to gather support for sports development in Bayelsa State.
Further, Governor Diri added in the post that Infantino is happy with the investments in Bayelsa United and Bayelsa Queens. Our support for the growth of female football in Nigeria, Africa and the globe touches him. I see a lot more partnerships coming our way in this direction.
My government is strategically promoting sports through proper funding to engage our youths in the State positively.
Morocco is the first country in the African Continent to qualify for the semi-final. Before their defeat in the semi-finals at the hands of France, Morocco was responsible for eliminating several strong European Football teams in the early stages of the competition.
Morocco was instrumental in getting Belgium out of the competition in the group stage. Following this, the African nation defeated Spain in the round of sixteen. The Skill of Morocco’s national team is further evident in the fact that they managed to qualify for the semi-finals by beating another sports giant of Europe, Portugal.
Governor Douye Diri also shared his experience at the dinner, where he was hosted by the Nigerian Ambassador to Qatar. He said that his experience of the 2022 World Cup was brightened up by the interaction he shared with the Nigerian Ambassador.
The two individuals shared very interesting bilateral and investment opportunities that would be of interest to the State of Bayelsa.
In the social media post that he shared about the experience, Governor Diri thanked Yakubu Abdullahi Ahmed for being a great host.
