CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe launched the CAF African Schools FootballProgramme in Maputo, Mozambique; in an event attended by members of the Mozambican Government, business and football leaders from Mozambique and the COSAFA region.
Before the launch, the CAF President met with Mozambique President, His Excellency Filipe Nyusi, who is passionate about football and whose government supports football.
“Schools football is at the heart of the long-term development and growth of African football. One of the best investments that we can make to ensure that African football is amongst the best world, is to invest in schools football and football infrastructure for boys and girls at school, amateur and professional level,” Dr Motsepe said.
The CAF President presided over the CAF African Schools Football Championship kick-off event at Costa do Sol Stadium, alongside the Vice-Minister of Education, Manuel Basso, the Sports State Secretary, Carlos Gilberto Mendes, CAF 5th Vice President, Kanizat Ibrahim, CAF General Secretary, Veron Mosengo-Omba and football Presidents from Mozambique, Angola, Comoros, Malawi, Mauritius, South Africa, representatives of other African nations and the co-founder of the Motsepe Foundation, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe.
The kick-off of the CAF African Schools Football Programme is the implementation of one of Dr Patrice Motsepe’s African youth football development objectives as announced, in April 2021, during a visit in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The CAF African Schools Football Programme is a partnership involving CAF, African Governments, and Football Associations from 41 participating countries. The Programme also involves the provision of education, coaching, football and skills development courses.
The CAF African Schools Football Programme received a donation of USD 10 million from The Motsepe Foundation which will be used as prize money. The winning schools will use the prize money to provide football infrastructure, educational and other skills development facilities at these schools.
The CAF African Schools Football Programme Explained
Football Associations from 41 countries will participate in the inaugural event.
The winning schools will use the prize money to provide football infrastructure, equipment and educational development courses at these schools.
Phases:
The Programme is set to be played between April 2022 and March 2023. It will have three phases:
- The first phase will be at a national level from April to July 2022.
- The second phase also known as the Zonal Phase is where winners of national competition will compete between September and December 2022.
- The final stage will be the Continental leg which will be played in March 2023 at a venue still to be announced.
Capacity Building
The Programme focuses on capacity building in areas of governance, coaching, education and media for the participating countries.
The participating schools will also benefit from this capacity building and training program. Teachers will be selected to enrol in in CAF coaching programmes.
Social Impact
One of the objectives of the Programme is on the social impact of football in the communities and countries where the schools are – using the game to change the face of Africa.
This includes:
- Leadership Development: children from each participating school will deputize their teachers in administrative roles within the team set-up to learn first-hand the qualities required to lead a winning team.
- Young Reporter Programme: children will be selected to learn media related skills like journalism and tv/radio commentary.
- Young Referee Programme: children will be trained on how to interpret the Laws of Football and they will be given opportunities to officiate matches during the championship.
Credit: CAF Communication Department
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