GOLF ACADEMY OPENS NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH OF CÔTE D’IVOIRE

Korhogo, northern Côte d’Ivoire, Sunday 24 April 2016  –  Côte d’Ivoire’s first golf academy for children has been launched here at a golf day attended by the prefect of the Korhogo region, the town’s mayor and other dignitaries.  The academy is a joint initiative between the Ivorian sport promotion company Team STL and Randgold, which owns and operates the Tongon gold mine in the country.

The aim is to provide underprivileged children with potential the opportunity to acquire a first-rate academic education combined with their development as golfers.  Initially, bursaries will be offered to 100 pupils selected from all over the country.  A number of children from the area around Tongon participated in today’s event.

Speaking at the golf day, Randgold chief executive Mark Bristow said the sport academy initiative would complement the company’s wide-ranging social responsibility portfolio of education, health, infrastructure and economic development projects.

“We are committed to discovering and nurturing talent in our host countries, and by giving youngsters the opportunity to develop their athletic as well as their academic potential, the academy will add an extra dimension to this drive,” he said.