Sweet-Ball Media Awards honour Côte d’Ivoire’s press

The second Sweet-Ball Media Awards recognised Côte d’Ivoire’s sports journalists, with Vazoumana Soumahoro taking the event’s top honour. The RTI 3 television journalist was celebrated on Friday, 21 August 2026, at Abidjan’s Novotel during the closing programme of the Little AFCON tournament.

Soumahoro first won the television category before receiving the 2026 Super Prize. Lamidi Batundé won the radio award, Dou Nicaise took the written press category and David Kouamé was recognised for online journalism. Each of the four category winners received one million CFA francs.

The awards formed part of the second edition of an event held alongside the Little AFCON, a tournament for Sweet-Ball, the hybrid discipline developed by the AI-MAX collective. The sport combines elements of football, basketball and maracana, while its continental competition is intended to identify young talent and support social integration among African youths. Twelve national teams took part in the 2026 tournament, including Benin, Ethiopia, Egypt and defending champions Côte d’Ivoire.

The ceremony also included the Dieng Ousseynou Trophy for African integration, awarded to a prominent figure in continental sport, and an artistic performance by Vision Plurielle of Grand-Bassam.