Fifa Project Starts In Ghana

The joint Broadcast Academy of FIFA and the African Union of Broadcasters (AUB) kicked off in Accra, Ghana today (14 April 2009) with the start of the "FIFA Broadcast Legacy Week" seminar. The four-day workshop will be attended by 100 local TV representatives. The modules featured are live TV direction, live TV commentary and image news gathering.

In the run-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, FIFA, together with broadcasters of the event in the sub-Sahara region, will hold seminars for up to 3,000 radio and TV professionals in up to 41 countries in order to pass on best practice in the field of football broadcasting and build capacity in areas such as TV journalism, commentary, commercial planning and TV production for matches.

The project is part of FIFA's Win in Africa with Africa initiative. "It is crucial for FIFA that the first FIFA World Cup on African soil leaves a legacy not only for African football, but also for African society in general. The AUB-FIFA Broadcast Academy is a great example of that," said FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke.

AUB CEO Larry Atiase emphasised that it was "a ground-breaking step for the African continent, not only towards achieving high-quality football coverage, but also in helping us to establish a reliable continental broadcast network." Each "FIFA Broadcast Legacy Week" programme will offer:

· long-term, high-quality sports journalism of broadcast standard

· a professional tool for enhanced football coverage

· techniques for producing new images and stories about the real Africa

· commercial training in how to manage television rights and how to develop advertising and sponsor packages for broadcaster clients