The zonal qualifiers for the African School Football Championship kick off in Cairo on Friday.

On Friday, October 7, 2022, the African Schools Football Championship will enter the exciting zonal phase with the launch event hosted by the UNAF region at the June 30 Complex in Cairo, Egypt.

The Zonal Qualifiers will bring together the winning schools from each of the participating countries.

This follows the historic announcement by the CAF Executive Committee last weekend, which will see a total of $4 million invested in prize money for the competition by CAF.

The UNAF Zone Tournament will be played from 07-09 October 2022 at the 30 June Complex, Cairo, Egypt, starting at 10:00 a.m. with the opening ceremony followed by the first match at 10:30 a.m.

200 children will take part in the competition. Participating teams in the UNAF zone are Egypt (hosts), Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya.

The inaugural African School Football Championship drew more than 20,000 schools from 41 countries across Africa to compete for the ultimate prize: winners will receive US$300,000 each – an equal prize for boys’ and girls’ teams. The prize money will be given to the schools to finance their development projects.

The African School Football Championship is more than just a football event. It is part of the African Schools Program which focuses on maximizing the social impact of football through capacity building in all aspects of football management.

The inaugural season piloted programs for young referees, young coaches and young reporters to showcase the diverse career opportunities within African football. These programs target children in school and their supporting environment, including their teachers, limiting opportunities to young Africans under the age of 25.

The African Schools Program initiative is a continuation of CAF’s commitment to President Motsepe’s vision to improve youth football and build the capacity of CAF member associations.

Zonal phase:

COSAFA will follow UNAF with its event which will take place from October 28 to 30, 2022 in Malawi. This will see 160 girls and 160 boys engaged.

In November, Ivory Coast will host the WAFU B tournament from November 11-13, while UNIFFAC will meet in Congo from November 25-27.

The CECAFA and WAFU A tournaments are scheduled for December 2022.

Complete program of the zonal phase:

The continental tournament which acts as the final tournament of the African Schools Championship will take place from 7 to 9 April 2023.

Important Contest Information:

442,094 children participated in the competition

41 countries are concerned

Over 20,000 schools to date

National phase:

CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe kicked off the national phase of the championship in Maputo, Mozambique in April this year at an event attended by sports ministers, education ministers and member associations.

The African School Football Championship is an initiative led by CAF and bringing collaboration between Governments, Member Associations and Schools.

In addition, the Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football (“CAF”) (“EXCO”) has announced the following allocations for the African School Football Championship:

For the Winners of the African School Football Championship at Continental level:

$300,000 for the winner;

$200,000 for the finalist;

150,000 USD for the 3rd post.

For the Winners of the African School Football Championship at the level of the 6 Zone Unions:

100,000 USD for each of the 6 Zonal Union winners;

USD 75,000 for each of the 6 Zonal Union finalists;

50,000 USD for each of the 6 Zonal Union 3rd position winners.

The total prize for the first year is $4 million and will be allocated from the Motsepe Foundation’s $10 million donation.

The cash prizes for winning boys’ schools and winning girls’ schools are the same.

This is an important and significant step in CAF’s commitment to develop and develop youth and school football on the African continent and to pay winning girls’ schools the same prize money as schools. of winning boys.