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The draw has been completed for the inaugural CAF African Schools Football Championship Final with intriguing first round groups in both the boys’ and girls’ competition as the race begins to be crowned continental champions in Durban, South Africa.
The competition will get under way on Wednesday at the King Zwelithini Stadium with consecutive matches in the boys and girls events involving South African sides.
Clapham High School will take on CS Horizon of DR Congo at 09h00 (07h00 GMT) in the first match in Group A in the boys competition, while fellow hosts Edendale Technical School, who are from the KwaZulu-Natal province, meet Tanzania’s Fountain Gate Dodoma Secondary School at the same time.
Matches are played on a ‘half pitch’ with eight players a side, making it possible for two games to be staged at once.
The other team in Group A of the boys’ competition is CEM Belaouche Mouhend Oulhadji from Algeria, while Group B contains Salima Secondary School (Malawi)
Complexe Scolaire Ben Sekou Sylla (Guinea), CEG Sainte Rita (Benin) and Royal Giants High School (Uganda).
The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals.
It is the same format in the girls’ competition. Scan Aid from The Gambia are the third team in Group A, while Group B contains CEG Mfilou (Congo), Anse Boileau (Seychelles), CEG Colby (Benin) and Ecole Omar IBN Khatab (Morocco).
The group stages and semifinals in both events will be completed on Day 2 of the competition on Thursday, with the third-place play-off and final to be staged at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium on Saturday. Friday will be a rest day.
The Motsepe Foundation has donated USD 10 million in prize money for the tournament, making it comfortably the richest school’s event on African soil. The winners of the boys’ and girls’ competitions will receive USD 300,000 each. The runners-up receive USD 200,000 and the bronze medal winners take home USD 150,000.
“For us this means the world. This programme is about rebuilding Africa,” CAF General Secretary Mr Veron Mosengo-Omba said. “We give the chance for our kids to meet each other, a player from South Africa meeting a player from The Gambia to grow a friendship between them.
“This a major programme that we have put in place. It is the final of the tournament. We started with the domestic level and then the regional level from our six zones in Africa. This is a dream come true, to create this type of Pan-African competition.
“We want to produce the best players, of course, but also the key is giving our youth the chance to play football and take a step forward in their life. We have had 400,000 children participate this year, maybe there will be some who will play at the FIFA World Cup in 2030.”
South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Mr Zizi Kodwa said the country was delighted to host the CAF African Schools Football Championship.
“We are elated as the government of South Africa, and on behalf of His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa, to host this prestigious inaugural event,” Mr Kodwa said.
“Sport is not just a game; it builds communities and friendships. School sport has a role to play in promoting peace on the African continent. It is an extremely important part of education; it is not an extramural activity only.
“Some of the best athletes in the world are the products of school sport, we believe Africa’s time is now.”
BOYS COMPETITION
GROUP A
A1 – Clapham High School (South Africa)
A2 – CS Horizon of Bukavu (DR Congo)
A3 – CEM Belaouche Mouhend Oulhadji (Algeria)
GROUP B
B1 – Salima Secondary School (Malawi)
B2 – Complexe Scolaire Ben Sekou Sylla (Guinea)
B3 – CEG Sainte Rita (Benin)
B4 – Royal Giants High School (Uganda)
GIRLS COMPETITION
GROUP A
A1 – Edendale Technical School (South Africa)
A2 – Fountain Gate Dodoma Secondary School (Tanzania)
A3 – Scan Aid (The Gambia)
GROUP B
B1 – CEG Mfilou (Congo)
B2 – Anse Boileau (Seychelles)
B3 – CEG Colby (Benin)
B4 – Ecole Omar IBN Khatab (Morocco)
