By Our Reporter
Ardent Liverpool fans and the entire football fraternity across the country will have a big reason to smile ear to ear when former Reds star Luis Javier Garcia visits the country this week on Thursday.
The former FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid player is popular for his Liverpool semi-final controversial goal that knocked out Chelsea in 2005 before the Reds went ahead to win their historic fifth UEFA Champions League honor during Rafael Benitez’s reign at Anifield.
Speaking to the Daily Monitor, Garcia confirmed his visit to Uganda after admitting that fans keep reminding him of the goal against the Blues.
“The fans everywhere remind me of that moment. I can’t wait to come to Uganda,” Garcia said before adding that “it will be nice to see the people over there and visit a new country in my life.”
In a visit that has been organized by the Rayco Garcia Foundation, Garcia will travel to Rwanda’s capital, Kigali where he will meet President Paul Kagame in a bid to boost tourism in the country through sports.
From Kigali, the iconic Luis will connect to Kampala on Thursday evening for the same reasons and will be part of a fundraising dinner of his jersey, Lionel Messi’s, Neymar’s and Andres Iniesta’s in an attempt to raise funds for the Rayco Garcia soccer academy in Uganda.
It is however not clear whether he will meet President Museveni.
Meanwhile, Barcelona Captain and 2010 World Cup final hero, Andres Iniesta could also be on his way to Uganda if all goes well.
“My schedule is a tight one, but I will look at my calendar and see when I can travel there with my family,” Iniesta revealed.
Iniesta was also excited to have a Mountain Gorilla named after him according to Great Lakes Safaris founder, Amos Wekesa. “That would be very good,” Iniesta remarked.
All this comes barely a month after ex-Barcelona star Patrick Kluivert and Rayco Garcia visited the country.