Zanzibar to host CAF Schools Football Championship finals
The two winning teams each received $300,000 after the Motsepe Foundation donated $10-million in the inaugural year of the Pan-African schools competition PHOTO | CAF
What you need to know:
- The CAF African Schools Football Championship features boys and girls under the age of 15. It is a first for world football and a brainchild of CAF president Motsepe - in line with his vision of Investing in the Youth of Africa.
Dar es Salaam. Zanzibar, the awe-striking tourist destination that lies off the coast of Tanzania Mainland and attracts thousands of visitors annually, has been selected as the host for the 2024 CAF African Schools Football Championship finals.
The second edition of Africa’s largest youth football competition finals will be held at the recently refurbished Amaan Stadium from May 21 to 24.
African football governing body (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe and a number of African football legends are expected to attend the finals that will feature the winners of Regional or Zonal Qualifiers.
The CAF African Schools Football Championship features boys and girls under the age of 15. It is a first for world football and a brainchild of CAF president Motsepe - in line with his vision of Investing in the Youth of Africa.
Building from the success of its inaugural edition, this season has seen a 40 percent spike in participation, with 804,480 young African boys and girls from 28,862 schools across 44 countries competing in the second edition of the Championship.
Coupled with its platform of giving youngsters the opportunity to compete internationally, the competition has a parallel capacity-building programme that imparts unique capacity-building skills to scholars, coaches and educators.
Throughout the Zonal Qualifiers, CAF has rolled out various capacity-building programmes which included the Young Reporters Programme, Young Referee Programme, Young Medical Officers Programme, CAF D License Coaching Course, as well as the CAF Safeguarding Workshops.
Similar to last season, the CAF African Schools Football Championship Finals are expected to be attended by some of the CAF legends to help inspire and encourage the aspiring footballers.
The winners of both competitions for boys and girls will each receive a prize money of $300,000 (Sh775.5 million) runners-up $200,000 (Sh517 million), while bronze medallists will each take home $150.000 (387.7 million), courtesy of CAF’s partnership with the Motsepe Foundation to be utilised for development projects within the schools.
Meanwhile, Zanzibar Football Federation (ZFF) president Suleiman Mahmoud Jabir said that preparations for the event are going on well.
“This is an honour to Zanzibar to host the second edition of the tournament featuring 24 teams. Everything is going on well and we expect to have a thrilling event,” explained Jabir.
