This week the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) marks its 25th anniversary. It should have been a joyous occasion, if it were not marred by the latest scandal — receiving $300,000 in donation from Al Amoudi, a vampire businessman and a key financier of the Woyanne terrorist regime in Ethiopia. The ESFNA many Ethiopians in the Diaspora labored hard to build and make a large Ethiopian sport and cultural institution has now become a tool for the Woyanne dictatorship with the help of Al Amoudi and his henchmen who managed to have a stranglehold on the Federation.
Wholesale condemnation of the Federation will not save the institution, and will also not do justice to some of the innocent, patriotic Ethiopians who are part of the Federation. So it is important to identify the culprits who are trying to turn the federation into a Woyanne tool. Interestingly, the bad guys are very few, but their ugly deeds are terribly harmful. Their power is Al Amoudi’s money.
We will come back to them. But first, let’s briefly review the good deeds the Federation had done since its inception.
ESFNA’s biggest accomplishment and its most important service to Ethiopians in north America is that it has been able to organize the largest annual Ethiopian gathering outside of Ethiopia. Every year, in the fist week of July, thousands of Ethiopians from all walks of life come together to celebrate Ethiopian culture, entertain themselves, reunite with old friends, hold various meetings, do business, build professional networking, and start relationships that lead to marriages.
For a long time, ESFNA has been accused of financial corruption. Most of the money it generates from the annual event disappear into the pockets of few individuals. At this year’s event in Washington DC, for example, the Federation charges $15 per person to enter the stadium every day, and $10 for parking. The over one hundred vendors have each paid $3,000 in advance for concession stands. Corporate sponsors such Western Union and AT&T have paid huge amounts of money (undisclosed to the public) to display their advertisement banners at the stadium. A significant portion of the revenue from these sources disappears.
As a result, ESFNA has not been able to expand in its 25 years existence and come out of its perennial financial difficulties. The annual event grew despite the Federation, not because of it, as over 90 per cent of the activities during the one-week event are organized by independent groups and organizations. Once the Federation announces the city where the annual event would be held, the various groups, including concert promoters, conference organizers, businessmen, and others start their own preparations totally independent of the Federation.
Repeated efforts to clean up the Federation from corruption have had little success. The public and the media have been tolerant of corruption in the ESFNA so far as long as its good deeds outweigh the bad ones.
In recent years, under a restructured leadership, the Federation, has been trying to repair its image by making donations to various causes, such as $20,000 for flood relief in southern Ethiopia, $15,000 for HIV/AIDS prevention programs, and $120,000 for drought victims a few years ago. The Federation also gives free concession stands for non-profit and religious groups to raise funds at the stadium during the one-week soccer tournament.
However, ESFNA as a sports association is not expected to engage in relief efforts. It would serve the community much better by sticking to it mission, doing it professionally, and rooting out the gross corruption in its midst.
But as if the corruption is not bad enough, this year, ESFNA has lend itself to Woyanne’s ugly politics by accepting a large donation from Woyanne money man Al Amoudi.
Al Amoudi’s role in the Tigrean People Liberation Front (Woyanne) is well-known. He is a self-declared Woyanne who has recently said that TPLF is like his mother. Al Amoudi has been a key player in helping solidify Woyanne’s evil grip on Ethiopia. When he is unable to buy critics of the Woyanne regime, Al Amoudi puts them of out business. He has also been trying to silence Ethiopian media abroad. Many Ethiopian web sites and radio program are afraid to criticize him. This web site, whose publisher is sentenced to life in prision in Ethiopia, has recently been threatened with a lawsuit by Al Amoudi’s powerful U.S. lawyers.
For the ESFNA to accept donation from Al Amoudi, a member of the Woyanne crime family that is terrorizing and brutalizing the people of Ethiopia and Somalia, is a cruel betrayal. The following is a sickening message that is posted on ESFNA’s web site:
The entire family of ESFNA, players, coaches, board members and Executive Committee members, would like to say “Thank You” to Dr. Sheikh Mohammed Hussien Alamudi for his generous gift of $300,000 to our organization… Again, thank you and we wish you good health and long life.
The ESFNA officials have shown themselves to be nothing but pigs by wishing good health and long life to one of the biggest Woyanne parasites that are sucking the life blood of our country.
Having said that, EthiopianReview.com has been able to find out that not all ESFNA officials are in the same boat. According to ER’s investigation, the donation by Al Amoudi has been orchestrated by a few individuals inside the ESFNA executive committee and the board of directors, over the strong objection of the majority. Through these few individuals, and using his vast financial resources, Al Amoudi has been able to infiltrate and hijack the ESFNA.
The names that come often during ER’s investigation into the matter are Vice President of ESFN Eyaya Arega, Secretary Samuel Abate, and board member Sebsebe Assefa.
These individuals, along with several of their collaborators, have been wined and dined by Al Amoudi in Sheraton Hotel when they traveled to Addis Ababa. They are using their official positions in ESFNA not to serve the community and the soccer players, but their own business interests. The other members of the executive committee and the board should not escape from being held accountable, even though they are thought to be innocent, since silence is a crime by omission. The rationale for their silence or for no taking strong stand, i.e, the survival of the federation, is not convincing. If they take strong stand and expose the pigs, the community will rally behind them and help them clean up the Federation.
EthiopianReview.com will continue its investigation of ESFNA and will make its findings available to the public. In the mean time, we urge all the soccer players to take a stand. Don’t let yourself be used by Woyanne and its hodam servants.