THE THREE PILLARS
The CAF African Schools Programme is a development project that focuses on organised school football through the African Schools Football Championship that increase the social impact of football and build the capacity of participating countries through training programmes. There are three pillars to this project:
THE GAME
Nurturing football talent in a continentally recognised competition.
SOCIAL
Promoting social values of inclusivity, gender equality and fair play in a safe and secure environment.
TRAINING & EDUCATION
To define the career pathways in other aspects of football management.
COMPETITION STRUCTURE
There are three phases to the competition:
· The National Phase, which is managed by member associations and provides winning schools for that country.
· The Zonal Phase, where the top teams from the regions gather to determine the best teams from the zone.
· The Continental Phase, where the winning schools from the six CAF zones meet to determine an African champion.
CRITERIA & FORMAT
The competition will be played under the following regulations:
· The boys and girls teams are made up of players aged 12-15 years old.
· There are eight players per side on the pitch at any given time, with unlimited substitutes able to be used.
· The pitch is 70m x 42m (half the size of a regular pitch) and the goals are 2m x 5m.
KEY NUMBERS
· It is estimated that some 500,000 school children will have taken part in the 2022/23 African Schools Football Championship once it is completed, from the National Phase to the Continental Phase.
· That will involve 20,000 schools across the continent.
· Teams from 41 countries will have taken part.
PRIZE-MONEY
Donated by the Motsepe Foundation, the prize money for the boys' and girls' competitions is exactly the same, with a total of $4 million to be distributed in the 2023 competition, broken down as follows:
ZONAL PHASE
Winner (boys & girls) $100,000
Runner-up (boys & girls) $75,000
Third place (boys & girls) $50,000
Total across six zones $2,700,000
CONTINENTAL PHASE
Winner (boys & girls) $300,000
Runner-up (boys & girls) $200,000
Third place (boys & girls) $150,000
Total * $1,300,000*
OFF-PITCH ACTIVITIES
What happens off the pitch is as important as the football on it and there are several programmes that have taken place in conjunction with theAfrican Schools Football Championship.
LEADERSHIP
The regulations of participation in the Championship obliged the schools to give Assistant Coaching opportunities to older students to learn leadership skills from their coaches.
YOUNG REPORTER
Students are given opportunities to learn from experts in football reporting and use the skills to report on their counterparts who are playing or coaching during the Championship.
YOUNG REFEREE
Students are given opportunities to learn from experts in football match officiating and use the skills to officiate matches during the Championship.
CAPACITY BUILDING
Students and teachers below 25 years of age are trained on fundamentals of football coaching and management to increase the number of trained personnel in each country.
SAFEGUARDING
Students, Guardians, Teachers, and all workforce at the African Schools Football Championship are educated and trained on maintaining a safe environment for everyone.
THE ZONAL QUALIFIERS
CECAFA (EAST AFRICA)
The regional finals were staged in Chamazi, Tanzania and CECAFA were the last of the six zones to complete their qualifiers.
Uganda's Royal Giants High School, the boys champions, beat Geda Roble Secondary School from Ethiopia 4-2 on penalties after the two teams finished goalless.
Fountain Gate Dodoma Secondary School, who were crowned as girls champions, defeated Awaro Senior Secondary from Ethiopia 3-0 in the final played at the Azam Stadium.
Boys' Final
Royal Giants High School (Uganda) 0-0 Geda Roble Secondary School (Ethiopia)
Royal Giants won 4-2 on penalties
Girls' Final
Fountain Gate Dodoma Secondary School (Tanzania) 3-0 Awaro Senior Secondary (Ethiopia)
COSAFA (SOUTHERN AFRICA)
The qualifiers were held in the Malawian city of Lilongwe and produced four qualifiers from the zone as South Africa will host the continental finals in Durban.
In the boys' competition, South Africa'sClapham High School defeated Salima Secondary School from Malawi 1-0 in a hard-fought final to claim the regional trophy.
The girls' competition was played in a round-robin format with the five teams playing four games each.Edendale Technical from South Africa finished top of the standings, with Anse Boileau from Seychelles in second place. All four of these schools have qualified for the continental finals.
Clapham High forward Kgaogelo Monanyane won the boys' Best Player prize, while Salima Secondary's Ishumael Bwanali claimed the Golden Boot. Kamogelo Phokela from Clapham High was the Best Goalkeeper.
The Best Player prize in the girls' competition went to Victoria Nkwala from Malindi Secondary, with Edendale Technical's Nobahle Mdelwa winning the Golden Boot and Malindi's Emily Maulidi the Golden Glove.
Boys' Final (both teams qualify)
Clapham High School (South Africa) 1-0 Salima Secondary School (Malawi)
Girls' Final Table (top two teams qualify) P PTS
Edendale Technical (South Africa) 4 12
Anse Boileau (Seychelles) 4 7
Malindi Secondary (Malawi)* 4 6
GS Ningha (Comoros) 4 2
Mothamo JSS (Botswana) 4 1
* Malindi Secondary had points awarded from two of their games to their opponents after fielding ineligible players.
UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
The zonal finals were held in the Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat in Brazzaville, and it proved an all-Congolese affair.
In the boys' category, DR Congo's CS Horizon of Bukavu had lost to home side Groupe Scolaire Louis Samuel the day before but defeated them 3-0 when they met again in the final to book their ticket.
Home side CEG Mfilou confirmed their victory in the girls' competition by beating DR Congo's Uwezo School Complex of Goma 1-0 in the decider.
Akilini Kitoko from Horizon won the Best Player in the boys' competition, while his teammate Mugisho Kaliba claimed the Golden Boot. Jonathan Bahita from the same team was the Best Goalkeeper.
Ngongo Wakama from Uwezo was the Best Player in the girls' category and Daïna Obili of CEG Mfilou claimed Best Goalkeeper.
Boys' Final
CS Horizon of Bukavu (DR Congo) 3-0 Groupe Scolaire Louis Samuel (Congo-Brazzaville)
Girls Final
CEG Mfilou (Congo-Brazzaville) 1-0 Uwezo School Complex of Goma (DR Congo)
UNAF (NORTH AFRICA)
The UNAF qualifiers were played in a round-robin format with five schools each in the boys' and girls' category.
Ecole Hedi Ayadi from Tunisia claimed a full haul of 12 points from their four games to easily qualify as the top team in the boys' competition, as did Ecole Omar Ibn Khatab from Morocco in the girls' event.
Aziz Ahmed Jouinni from Ecole Hedi Ayadi won the Best Player prize in the boys' competition, while Khoubayeb Bouzima claimed the Golden Boot and Ayoub Selmani the Best Goalkeeper.
Sara Dofry from winners Ecole Omar Ibn Khatab was the Best Player in the girls' competition, while Ahlam Boukhorb was the Best Goalkeeper and Salma Marzouki from Tunisia's Ecole Omar Ibn Khatab claimed the Golden Boot.
Boys' Final Table P PTS
1. Ecole Hedi Ayadi (Tunisia) 4 12
2. Ecole Boulawech Boumerde (Algeria) 4 7 (+6 goal-difference)
3. Ecole Sewada (Egypt) 4 7 (+1)
4. Ecole Alkaleel Tripoli (Libya) 4 3
5. Ecole Mohamed El Maghraoui (Morocco) 4 0
Girls' Final Table P PTS
1. Ecole Omar Ibn Khatab (Morocco) 4 12
2. Ecole Aroui (Tunisia) 4 9
3. Ecole Mejda (Egypt) 4 4 (+1 goal-difference)
4. Ecole Ibn Battouta (Algeria) 4 4 (-7)
5. Ecole Alkarama (Libya) 4 0
WAFU A (WEST AFRICA)
The zonal finals took place in Cape Verde with successful schools from Guinea and The Gambia winning through to the continental finals.
In the boys' competition,Complexe Scolaire Ben Sekou Sylla from Guinea claimed a 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory over New Yundum from The Gambia after the teams had played to an entertaining 0-0 draw in the final.
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Gambia's Scan Aid were dominant throughout, winning all four matches in the round robin format of the girls' tournament.
Amara Keita from Complexe Scolaire Ben Sekou Sylla won the Best Player prize in the boys' competition, while Alagie Jarju from New Yundum took home the Golden Boot. Mauro Delgado from Escola Secundaria Jose Augusto Pinto was the Best Goalkeeper.
In the girls' competition, Kaddy Camara of Scan Aid was the Best Player, Domingas Batista of Ecole Congresso de Cassaga the Golden Boot winner and her teammate Graciete Da Silva the Best Goalkeeper.
Boys' final
Complexe Scolaire Ben Sekou Sylla (Guinea) 0-0 New Yundum (The Gambia)
Complexe Scolaire won 4-2 on penalties.
Girls' Final Table
1. Scan Aid (The Gambia)
2. Ecole Congresso de Cassaca (Guinea-Bissau)
3. College Fode Fissa (Guinea)
4. Cem Amadou Sampathe (Senegal)
WAFU B (WEST AFRICA)
It was a Benin 'double' in the WAFU B qualifiers that were staged in the Cote d'Ivoire capital of Abidjan as the country claimed both the boys' and girls' competition after a hard-fought few days.
CES Sainte Rita saw off CES Fan of Niger 2-1 in the semifinals of the boys competition and later defeated Cours Secondaire Venus Saioua 2-0 in the final.
CEG Colby thumped CES Fan 7-0 in the semifinals before winning 5-4 on penalties in the final of the girls' category following a 1-1 draw against Ecole Chonvigny B of Burkina Faso.
Arouna Nazirou of CEG Sainte Rita claimed the Best Player award in the boys' competition, while teammate Junior Hondoka won the Golden Boot with his four goals. Lucien Nonhouegnon, also of CEG Sainte Rita claimed the Best Goalkeeper prize.
In the girls' competition, Mamam Kouta Ismath from CEG Colby won the Best Player award, Sagnon Aminat of Chanvigny School from Burkina Faso claimed the Golden Boot for her nine goals and Arouna Sidika of CEG Colby was the Best Goalkeeper.
Boys' Final
CEG Sainte Rita (Benin) 2-0 Cours Secondaire Venus Saioua (Côte d'Ivoire)
Girls' Final
CEG Colby (Benin) 1-1 Ecole Chanvigny B (Burkina Faso)
CEG Colby won 4-3 on penalties.
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