Volunteers are the backbone of every major tournament. And the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt is just another proof for that. But there are some stories worth telling.
Ahmed Gamal is one of the media volunteers in Cairo International Stadium. Despite losing his sight he never surrendered and was graduated from Media College in 2017.
Yet, he couldn’t find a chance to work in the field he loves, till he heard about volunteering in AFCON 2019, and things just became better.
Ahmed, who supports Liverpool dating back to 2005, dreamt of interviewing The Reds Superstar Sadio Mane.
When Senegal came to Cairo Stadium to face Uganda in the Round of 16, he hoped Mane could come to the pre-match press conference to meet him, but that never happened.
Yet, he asked Coach Aliou Cisse, who immediately agreed to take him to the Teranga Lions training session, where he made his dream come true.
“I was very happy to meet Sadio Mane. I’m a Liverpool fan since 2005 and I personally love Mane, same like (Mohamed) Salah. He is a very friendly and humble person. When I asked him for a short interview he welcomed and I was thrilled to meet him”.
“My first practical experience is volunteering in this AFCON, so to have Sadio Mane is my first ever interview is just awesome. I was very nervous when I met him. Time was short and I wanted to ask him more questions but I’m really satisfied to interview a superstar like him. I hope this is a good omen for my career”.
