Stage set for talented schools stars
Football
An exciting edition of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) African Schools Football Championship / Cosafa Qualifier is slated for Walvis Bay next week. National under-15 boys’ and girls’ teams from eight nations will descend on the harbour town for the championship, with hopes of qualifying for the continental finals slated for 2025.
The participating nations are Angola, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, hosts Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The annual CAF African Schools Football Championship launched in 2022 with a focus on developing organised football at schools level on the continent for boys and girls. The draw for the 8-nation championship will be conducted in the harbour town.
All matches will be accommodated at Jan Wilken Stadium, with workshops to be hosted in the Indoor Sports Complex while practical sessions be held at Kuisebmond Stadium.
Bring it on
Daniel Mouton, head of sport for the Walvis Bay municipality, said the town is capable of hosting and ready for the youthful soccer showpiece.
“We recently hosted another very successful edition of the Southern Africa Inter-Municipal Sports Association (SAIMSA) Games, which required that we do minor renovations to our facilities which are now in excellent condition.”
Mouton hailed the tournament as an excellent initiative for the youth saying the country needs more such platforms to ensure that youth teams are adequately equipped and competitive.
“Our young football stars will learn the importance of social coexistence through engaging with people from other parts of Africa. The competition provides a very good platform for young players to showcase their football talent. It will be fascinating to witness the next generation of U15 talent and what’s in store for the future.”
Third edition
Namibia is the third host of the CAF Africa Schools Football Championship / Cosafa Qualifier. Malawi staged the tournament in the inaugural year in 2022 and Zimbabwe played host in 2023.
There was a change in 2023 as the competition moved away from individual schools, to each country now represented by the best players from the national qualifiers. South Africa completed a ‘double’ for the second year in a row by winning both the boys’ and girls’ titles at last year's qualifiers in Harare.
A key element of the CAF African Schools Football Championship / Cosafa Qualifier in Walvis Bay will be teaching the participating players life skills they can carry forward with them.
Squads in the boys’ and girls’ tournaments can contain up to 20 players with only students who took part in the national phase being eligible to participate in the zonal and continental phases.
Participants will be taken through safeguarding activities to not only provide them with information on the social impact of football, but also explain the measures that CAF have put in place to create a safe environment for the children.
A safeguarding officer will be assigned to each team as a focal point for all matters related to the well-being of the players and team delegation. The individual should be someone who is well versed in handling the challenges faced by youngsters and must have completed the mandatory FIFA Guardians Safeguarding Essentials online course.