Wenslus Murape
Fungai Muderere
THE Confederation of African Football (Caf) Schools Championship will be hosted by Bulawayo’s
Petra College from tomorrow to Saturday. The Caf African Schools Football Championship — a first in world football has firmly established itself as the leading youth football competition in Africa, thanks to the visionary leadership of Caf president, Patrice Motsepe who continues to champion and manifest his vision of making African football globally competitive and self-sustaining.
This highly anticipated event will see 16 teams competing, with the School Associations providing two teams per gender, a national select team and the winners of the 2024 national championships. As in previous editions, the Caf Africans Schools Football Championship is being conducted in three phases namely; National Phase (hosted by Member Associations), Zonal Phase (hosted by Caf’s Zonal
Unions) as well as the Continental Phase that is hosted by Caf in partnership with the selected Zonal Union and Member Association.
“Zifa is committed to the development of football across Zimbabwe, and the CAF African Schools
Championship is a vital part of this mission. We look forward to an exciting and competitive event in Bulawayo, celebrating the talents and potential of young Zimbabwean footballers,” said Zifa competitions manager Simbarashe Gochera.
The tournament is an Under-15 competition catering for children born on or after January 1, 2010. The championship provides a unique platform for young football talent across the nation to showcase their skills, fostering not only sporting excellence but also the spirit of unity and camaraderie among participants.
In conjunction with the championship, several developmental programmes will be held to enhance the skills and knowledge of young participants: In the young referees’ course, a total of 40 participants aged between 15 and 20 years will undergo the referees class four licence course.
This initiative aims to equip the next generation of referees with the necessary skills and knowledge to officiate at various levels of the game. The young medical officers’ course will be facilitated by the Red Cross.
This course will provide training for 20 students and 20 teachers, focusing on essential medical skills that are critical during sports events and with regards to the safe safeguarding training, all technical and team officials involved in the championship will receive training in safeguarding, ensuring that the highest standards of safety and welfare are maintained throughout the event.
Additionally, the championship will serve as a selection platform for the national Under 15 teams for boys and girls. The selected teams will go on to represent Zimbabwe in the Cosafa Zonal Phase, scheduled to be held in Namibia from September 5 to 8.
Online Reporter