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GORDON BROWN and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, promised new support to provide school places for 16 million children in Africa. According to reports in The Press Association, the two leaders announced their initiative on Thursday March 26 at Arsenal’s Emirates football stadium in north London, where they held the final press conference of Mr Sarkozy’s state visit. Mr Sarkozy said the aim was to provide the places in time for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. “One of the great challenges in Africa is that 33 million children are not going to school this morning,” he said. “There is no school for them to go to and no teachers to teach.”

Speaking on the Arsenal pitch ahead of the press conference, Mr Brown said that the two governments would be providing the assistance to charities and other organisations to enable them to build new schools and provide the teachers for them. “I believe we are making it possible for millions of people today to get opportunities they have never had before,” he said. Mr Brown said that the initiative was supported by the world football authority, Fifa, whose president, Sepp Blatter, was present for the meeting, as well as the English FA. The two leaders were welcomed to Arsenal by the club’s French manager, Arsene Wenger. They were also treated to a display of football skills from local youngsters from the Arsenal Double Club.

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