ANGOLAN civil society groups have urged the Argentine football federation and star player Lionel Messi to cancel a planned friendly match following violent protests that killed thirty people.
The football associations of both countries have been negotiating a match date in Luanda as part of Angola’s fiftieth independence anniversary celebrations in November.
Four civil society organisations accused Angolan authorities of “systematic repression” in an open letter addressed to the Argentine Football Association, the national team and Lionel Messi Foundation charity.
Refusing to participate in the planned match “would be a noble gesture of international solidarity and respect for human rights,“ said the groups, which include Catholic, legal and pro-democracy organisations.
Angola ranks among Africa’s leading oil producers yet approximately one third of its nearly thirty eight million population lives in poverty according to World Bank data.
Late July protests against fuel price increases turned violent when people looted shops, triggering a police response involving live ammunition.
At least thirty people died, more than two hundred seventy sustained injuries and around one thousand five hundred fifteen faced arrest during the worst unrest in decades for this southern African nation.
“While public resources are being channelled to large-scale sporting events, thousands of children and adults face chronic hunger, severe anaemia, and widespread food insecurity,“ the letter said.
The groups referenced a 2025 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report indicating 22.5% of Angola’s population suffers from undernourishment.
They stated that only a select few benefit from business opportunities in Angola, with most being associated with the MPLA party that has held power since independence from Portugal in 1975. – AFP
