November 21, (THEWILL) – With the Confederation of African Football (CAF), preparing to commence the zonal qualifiers for the 2023 CAF African Schools Football Championship in Togo this week, a series of training workshops are being rolled out across all zones to build capacity amongst coaches, referees, reporters and safeguarding officers, involved in the youth football competition.
The innovative championship, now in its second edition, aims to provide access and development opportunities for school learners across Africa both on and off the pitch. The first of these workshops began on Monday in Lomé, Togo, host country for the WAFU B zonal qualifiers from November 24-26 where 60 teachers and former players are undertaking a CAF D Licence coaching course.
Additional workshops scheduled in Lomé this week include programmes for young referees, reporters and safeguarding officers. Speaking at the launch of the coaching course, Togolese Football Federation President, Kossi Akpovy, thanked CAF and WAFU B for enabling local novice coaches to gain skills to provide “exemplary supervision” to aspiring young footballers.
Zonal qualifiers for the schools championship will take place across November and December 2023 for each of CAF’s regional zones. WAFU B kicks off in Togo this week, followed by UNIFFAC in São Tomé and Príncipe in December. COSAFA, CECAFA, UNAF and WAFU A will also host their respective zonal tournaments next month as participating countries aim to progress to the finals in 2024.
Through combining competitive international tournament experience with comprehensive training opportunities across roles, the 2023 African Schools Football Championship continues CAF’s wider commitment to fostering youth development and increasing access to football across Africa under the leadership of President Dr Patrice Motsepe.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
