Guest speakers for FIFA Conference announced

FIFA has invited Ugandan player Jean Sseninde and former African Footballer of the Year Frederic Oumar Kanoute, to speak during the FIFA conference for Equality and Inclusion.

"We are proud that our very own Sseninde has been selected to be among the speakers at this FIFA event," Humphrey Mandu, the deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ugandan FA told Xinhua on Tuesday.

The conference will take place at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland on March 2 and will also feature Chan Yuen Ting, the first female coach to win the Hong Kong Premier League.

Sseninde featured for Crystal Palace in England and was also part of the Uganda Crested Cranes team that finished fourth at the 2016 CECAFA Women's Championship. "I am excited that FIFA will give me this opportunity to speak during the Conference," Sseninde told Xinhua.

Last month the Uganda Crested Cranes player, with support from Manchester United's Juan Mata, successfully organized a Women's Development Championship in Kampala.

Sseninde said she started the Championship in 2016 as a way of giving back and also to help develop women's football at the lowest level, in all parts of Uganda.

According to FIFA, some of the speakers will discuss the importance of sport and football in the context of universal societal challenges such as the integration of refugees and immigrants, the empowerment of women, the prevention of violence and the recognition and inclusion of minorities.